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DIARY 


ILLUSTRATIVE  OF 


THE   TIMES 


GEORGE  THE  FOURTH, 


INTERSPERSED  WITH 


ORIGINAL  LETTERS 


FROM  THE  LATE 


QUEEN  CAROLINE, 


VARIOUS  OTHER  DISTINGUISHED  PERSONS. 

Tot  ou  tard,  tout  se  scait—  Maintenos. 

IN  TWO  VOLUMES. 
VOL.  I. 

PHILADELPHIA: 
CAREY,   LEA  AND   BLANCHARD. 

1838. 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


The  aii.then1j.city  of  the  following  Diary  and 
Letters  is  too  apparent  to  be  questioned.  The 
reader,  however,  cannot  fail  to  notice  certain 
discrepancies  which  occur  in  the  work,  and 
more  particularly  in  the  earlier  portions  of  it, 
by  which  it  would  appear  to  have  been  the  in- 
tention of  the  editor  who  first  undertook  to 
prepare  it  for  the  press,  to  disguise — by  as- 
suming the  masculine  style  in  the  Journal,  and 
substituting  the  feigned  for  the  real  sex  of  the 
personage  addressed  in  the  Letters — the  evi- 
dent fact  of  the  former  having  been  written  by 
a  female,  and  of  the  latter  being  communica- 
tions to  one  of  the  same  sex. 

The  reader,  by  being  made  aware  of  this  cir- 
cumstance, will  be  the  less  surprised  at  the 
other  discrepancies  which  occur,  with  regard 
to  dates ;  some  of  the  Letters  being  brought  in 
at  periods  quite  at  variance  with  the  dates  of 
the  Journal. 


MEMOIRS. 


SECTION   I. 

Courts  are  strange,  mysterious  places;  those  who  pretend 
most  to  despise  them  covet  being  within  their  precincts — 
those  who  once  obtain  an  entrance  there  generally  lament 
their  fate,  and  yet,  somehow  or  other,  they  cannot  break 
their  chains.  I  believe,  nevertheless,  that  it  is  all  one  whe- 
ther these  circles  of  society,  which  stand  apart  from  the 
rest  of  the  world,  exist  under  one  form  of  government,  or 
under  another;  whether  under  Emperors,  Kings,  Protectors 
or  Consuls;  they  may  vary  as  to  modes  and  designations, 
but  courts  are  courts  still,  from  the  earliest  times  even  to 
these  days.  Intrigues,  jealousies,  heart-burnings,  lies,  dis- 
simulation, thrive  in  them  as  mushrooms  in  a  hot-bed.  Not- 
withstanding, they  are  necessary  evils,  and  they  afford  a 
great  school  both  for  the  heart  and  head.  It  is  utterly  im- 
possible, so  long  as  the  world  exists,  that  similar  societies 
should  not  exist  also;  and  one  may  as  well  declaim  against 
every  other  defect  attendant  upon  humanity,  and  endea- 
vour to  extirpate  crime  from  the  world,  as  pretend  to  put 
down  courts  and  their  concomitant  evils. 

December,  1810.— Lady  M C called  upon  me 

by  appointment;  we  went  together  to  Her  Royal  Highness 

the  Duchess  of  B k.     She  thought  more  of  me  than  she 

had  ever  done  before,  because  I  was  on  the  road  to  royal 
favour,  she  herself  being  in  her  own  estimation  an  engrafted 

1* 


6  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

sprig  of  royalty.*  "We  rumbled  in  her  old  tub  all  the  way 
to  New-street,  Spring  Gardens,  much  to  the  discomfiture 
of  my  bones;  for  if  ever  the  vehicle  had  springs,  time  had 
stiffened  their  joints  as  completely  as  it  has  done  those  of 

its  soi-disant  royal  mistress.     Lady  M C was 

grandly  gracious,  and  gave  me  dissertations  on  etiquette, 
such  as  it  existed  in  her  young  days,  till  we  reached  our 
destination.  We  were  ushered  into  the  dirtiest  room  I 
ever  beheld,  empty,  and  devoid  of  comfort.  A  few  filthy 
lamps,  stood  on  a  sideboard — common  chairs  were  placed 
around  very  dingy  walls — and  in  the  middle  of  this  empty 
space,  sat  the  old  Duchess,  a  melancholy  specimen  of  de- 
cayed royalty.  There  is  much  goodness  in  her  countenance, 
and  a  candour  and  sincerity  in  her  manner,  and  even  in 
her  abrupt  and  rough  conversation,  which  is  invaluable  in  a 
person  of  her  rank,  whose  life  must  necessarily  have  been 
passed  in  the  society  of  those  whose  very  essence  is  deceit. 
Her  former  friendship,  for  friends  very  dear  to  me,  of  whom 
she  spoke  in  terms  of  respect  and  love,  gave  an  interest  to 
the  visit  which   it  could  not  otherwise  have  had.     1  sat, 

therefore,  patiently  listening  to  Lady  M C and 

Her  Royal  Highness,  who  talked  of  lords  and  ladies  of  the 
last  century,  and  wondered  at  those  of  the  present,  and 
passed  trippingly  over  the  peccadillos  of  their  own  contem- 
poraries, to  vent  all  their  moral  indignation  upon  those  of 
mine. 

Old  Mr.  L nef  was  announced:  poor  man,  what  did 

he  get  by  his  attendance  on  royalty?  the  ill  will  of  all  par- 
ties. He  knows  many  things  which,  if  told,  would  set  Lon- 
don on  fire.     Soon  after  his  entrance,  Lady  M C 

arose,  and,  kicking  her  train  behind  her,  backed  out  of  the 
room  in  capital  style.  How  the  heart  dilates  or  closes  in 
the  presence  of  different  persons!     It  must  surely  be  very 

*  If  Lady  M C means  Lady  Mary  Coke,  it  is  well  known 

she  supposed  herself  to  be  the  widow  of  the  antecedent  Duke  of 
York;  for  when  her  mother  one  day  found  the  Duke  in  her  apart- 
ment, and  rated  her  for  the  impropriety  of  her  conduct,  she  drew 
herself  up  with  ineffable  dignity,  and  replied,  "  Madam,  do  you  know 
whom  you  are  talking-  to?  You  are  talking  to  the  Duchess  of  York." 
—En. 

f  If  these  initials  designate  Mr.  Livingstone,  the  tutor  of  some  of 
the  Princes,  he  was  a  good  dull  man,  not  likely  to  be  intrusted  with 
state  secrets.-— Fd. 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  / 

unwholesome  to  be  with  those  in  whose  society  the  latter  is 
the  case. 

Went  to  Kensington — a  great  ball — every  body  of  the 
highest  fashion — Dukes  of  Portland  and  Beaufort,  Earl 
Harrowby,*  &c.  &c.  As  I  always  wished  the  royal  hostess 
well,  I  was  glad  to  observe  that  the  company  then  frequent- 
ing the  palace  were  of  the  best.  I  sat  down  by  some  old 
friends,  and  felt  that  to  be  near  them  was  a  comfort,  sur- 
rounded as  I  was  by  persons  for  whom  I  cared  not,  and 
who  cared  not  for  mej  but  the  Princess  beckoned  to  me, 
and  taking  my  arm,  leant  upon  it,  parading  me  around  the 
apartments.  The  inner  room  was  set  out  with  refresh- 
ments, and  a  profusion  of  gold  plate — which,  by  the  way, 
in  after  times  I  never  saw:  was  it  taken  away,  or  was  it 
otherwise  disposed  of?  I  know  not.  Sofas  were  placed 
around  the  tables,  and  the  whole  thing  was  well  managed. 
Her  Royal  Highness  wished  the  company  to  come  into 
this  banquetting  room;  but,  either  out  of  respect,  and  not 
knowing  whether  they  ought  to  do  so  or  not,  or  because 
they  preferred  the  outer  room,  no  one  would  come  in,  ex- 
cept Lady  0 — d,  Lord  H.  Fitzgerald,  and  Lord  G — r,  who 
was  forcibly  seized  upon  by  Lady  O — d.  Altogether,  in  my 
quality  of  looker-on,  I  could  not  but  think  that  lady  was  no 
honour  to  society;  and  it  was  only  surprising  to  remark  in 
her  instance,  as  well  as  in  that  of  many  others,  how  well 
impudence  succeeds,  even  with  the  mild  and  the  noble, 
who  are  often  subdued  by  its  arrogant  assumption  of  com- 
mand. 

The  Princess  complained  of  the  weight  of  some  jewels 
she  wore  in  her  head,  and  said  they  gave  her  the  head-ache; 
then  turning  to  a  person  who  was  evidently  a  favourite, 
asked,  "  May  I  not  take  them  oft' now  that  the  first  parade 
is  over?"  He  replied  in  his  own  doucereux  voice,  "  Your 
Royal  Highness  is  the  best  judge;  but,  now  that  you  have 
shown  off  the  magnificence  of  the  ornament,  I  think  it  would 
be  cruel  that  you  should  condemn  yourself  to  suffer  by 
wearing  it  longer.  In  my  opinion  you  will  be  just  as  hand- 
some without  it." 

*  These  noblemen  and  their  wives  continued  to  visit  Her  Royal 
Highness  the  Princess  of  Wales  till  the  King  was  declared  too  ill  to 
reign,  and  the  Prince  became  in  fact  Regent;  then  those  ladies  disap- 
peared that  moment  from  Kensington,  and  were  never  seen  there 
more.     It  was  the  besom  of  expcdk  ncy,  which  swept  them  all  away. 


8 


MEMOIRS    OF    THE 


I  was  convinced  from  the  manner  in  which  these  words 
were  spoken,  that  that  man  loved  her.  Poor  soul!  of  all 
those  on  whom  she  conferred  benefits,  I  think  he  was  the 
only  man  or  woman  who  could  be  said  to  have  loved  her, — 
and  he  ought  not  to  have  done  so. 

I  dined  again  at  Kensington.  There  were  assembled  a 
company  of  the  very  first  persons  of  the  realm.  I  was  glad 
to  see  that  what  had  been  told  me  of  low  company,  was  not 
true. 

Wednesday,  9th,  1810'.— This  day,  I  found  Her  Royal 
Highness  sitting  for  her  picture.  She  received  me  with 
her  usual  graciousness  of  manner,  and  desired  me  to  "  come 
and  sit," — her  phrase  for  feeling  comfortable  and  at  one's 
ease.  She  informed  me  that  Mr.  S ,  the  painter,  en- 
gaged upon  the  picture,  was  only  altering  the  costume  of  a 
portrait  taken  many  years  back,  which  she  said  was  by  no 
means  doing  his  talent  justice.  Certainly  the  picture  was 
frightful,  and  I  have  often  regretted  that  I  never  saw  a 
tolerable  likeness  painted  of  her.  Although  during  the  last 
years  of  her  life  she  was  bloated  and  disfigured  by  sorrow, 
and  by  the  life  she  led,  the  Princess  was  in  her  early  youth 
a  pretty  woman;  fine  light  hair — very  delicately  formed 
features,  and  a  fine  complexion — quick,  glancing,  pene- 
trating eyes,  long  cut,  and  rather  sunk  in  the  head,  which 
gave  them  much  expression — and  a  remarkably  delicately 
formed  mouth;  but  her  head  was  always  too  large  for  her 
body,  and  her  neck  too  short;  and  latterly,  her  whole  figure 
was  like  a  ball,  and  her  countenance  became  hardened, 
and  an  expression  of  defiance  and  boldness  took  possession 
of  it,  that  was  very  unpleasant.  Nevertheless,  when  she 
chose  to  assume  it,  she  had  a  very  noble  air,  and  I  have 
aeen  her  on  more  than  one  occasion,  put  on  a  dignified  car- 
riage, which  became  her  much  more  than  the  affectation  of 
girlishness  which  she  generally  preferred. 

To-day,  I  received  the  following  letter  from  my  friend 
"Matt  Lewis:"* 

*  Matt  Lewis,  known  to  the  public  as  "  Monk  Lewis."  He  was 
one  of  the  most  original  characters  I  ever  knew  ;  he  possessed  gene- 
rous and  noble  feelings,  and  talents  of  a  very  high  description;  but 
the  whole  was  marred  by  conceit,  which  frequently  rendered  him 
ridiculous  :  nevertheless,  his  friends,  who  profited  by  his  good  quali- 
ties, and  enjoyed  the  amusement  which  no  one  could  at  tiroes  better 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  9 

(Dated)         "  Holland  House, 

"  December  9th,  1810. 

"  The  only  news  which  is  likely  to  be  very  interesting 
to  you  is,  that  I  have  got  a  violent  cold;  and  that,  too, can 
scarcely  be  called  news,  for  I  have  now  had  it  about  a  week. 
Perhaps  you  may  think  this  a  subject  of  much  interest 
to  myself,  but  of  very  little  to  you;  but  I  can  assure  you 
that  you  are  likely  to  feel  the  bad  effects  of  it,  for  it  makes 
me  so  cross  and  so  stupid,  that  you  must  not  expect  to  find 
in  this  letter  the  slightest  scrap  of  good  nature  or  the  faint- 
est spark  of  entertainment. 

"  Since  you  left  town,  I  have  been  to  Brocket  Hall,  and 
passed  ten  very  pleasant  days  there  en  trio  with  William* 
and  Lady  Caroline  Lamb.  I  was  at  Kensington,  both 
Saturdayand  Sunday  last,  and  dine  there  again  to-mor- 
row. The  Princess  was  quite  well — very  anxious  about 
the  dear  Good  King;  talked  a  great  deal  about  you,  and 
expressed  much  impatience  for  a  letter  from  you,  giving  an 
account  of  the  wedding,  and  its  antecedents  and  conse- 
quences. Nothing  is  talked  of,  but  the  fluctuations  in  the 
King's  health,  and  the  probable  consequences,  till  I  am 
wearied  to  death  of  the  eternal  discussion.  Sometimes  he 
is  said  to  be  so  much  better  that  Parliament  is  to  be  imme- 
diately prorogued;  then  he  is  considerably  worse,  and  the 
Prince  is  to  be  appointed  Regent,  with  full  powers,  the  next 
day.  The  King's  situation  is  so  doubtful  that  Perceval  is 
resolved  to  protract  measures  as  much  as  possible,  and  the 
regal  power  is  at  present  to  be  confided  to  a  commission  of 
Lords  Justices;  then  again,  the  Prince,  and  the  King  and 
the  Lords  Justices,  are  all  to  be  laid  on  the  shelf  together, 
and  the  regency  is  to  be  vested  in  Her  Majesty  Queen 
Charlotte. 

"All  these  projects  in  their  turns  are  sifted,  and  sup- 
ported, and  contradicted,  and  laid  down  again,  leaving 
one,  at  the  end  of  the  discussion,  just  as  ignorant  and  as 
confused  as  at  the  beginning.  So  that  I  grow  quite  wea- 
ried and  impatient  with  the  subject,  and  am  in  the  precise 
situation  of  Sir  Philip  Francis,  when  the  Prince  was  telling 


supply  to  society  than  himself,  will  not  like  to  see  even  this  shade 
thrown  upon  his  character. — Ed. 
*  Now  Lord  Melbourne. 


10  MEMOI11S    OF    THE 

him  a  long  prosing  story,  which  still  went  on  and  went  on, 
without  coming  to  a  conclusion:  'Well,  Sir?  well  Sir?' 
cried  Sir  Philip,  out  of  all  patience — '  Well,  Sir,  well!  and 
what  then,  Sir?  what  then?'  At  last  the  Prince  said, 
'  Why,  what's  the  matter  with  you,  Sir  Francis?  what  do 
you  want?'  '  Want,  Sir,  want?  What's  the  matter  with 
me?  Sir,  I  want  a  remit?  And  this  is  precisely  the  only 
thing  now  which  I  want  to  hear  about  the  Regency.  More- 
over, it  is  at  least  certain  that  latterly  the  King's  general 
health  is  worse  than  it  was;  in  particular,  he  has  lately  had 
an  internal  complaint,  which  in  its  peculiar  circumstances 
is  said  frequently  to  be  the  forerunner  of  idiotcy. 

"  For  my  own  part,  I  am  for  having  the  Queen  at  the 
head  of  the  government}  it  is  certain,  that  having  a 
man  there,  has  as  yet  produced  but  little  good  against 
Bonaparte,  and  therefore  I  should  like  to  try  a  woman. 
Who  knows,  but  the  Queen  may  be  the  very  woman  men- 
tioned in  the  Revelation,  who  is  destined  to  be  crowned 
with  glory,  and  conquer  the  beast;  and  therefore,  as  soon 
as  she  is  appointed  regent,  I  would  immediately  have  her 
send  a  challenge  to  Bonaparte;  decide  the  whole  dispute 
by  single  combat;  and  if  she  will  but  follow  the  example 
of  that  illustrious ^leioine,  the  Princess  Rusty  Fusty,  in 
setting  her  back  against  a  tree,  and  defending  herself  with 
her  fan  and  her  scissors,  I  make  no  doubt  she  will  have 
the  same  success,  and  lay  the  holy  Roman  Emperor  dead 
at  her  feet. 

"  In  the  midst  of  all  these  political  speculations,  Lord 
Grey  has  made  the  disputants  a  low  bow,  and  has  gone 
back  to  Norlhumberland,  to  remain  there  till  the  middle  of 
January.  I  asked  Lord  Lauderdale,  if  Lord  Grey's  friends 
did  not  find  fault  with  his  being  out  of  the  way  at  such  a 
moment,  '  By  no  means,'  answered  he,  with  great  gravity, 
'  Lady  Grey  is  to  be  confined  very  soon,  and  he  sacrifices 
every  thing  to  the  consideration  of  his  wife.  He  was  quite 
in  the  right.     I  always  do  the  same  thing.'* 

"  London  is  very  full,  and  the  Duchess  of  Gordon  has 
had  some  good  assemblies.  The  Princess  of  Wales  lives 
quietly;  never  has  above  four  or  five  people  at  dinner,  and 
has  quite  given  up  going  to  the  play,  though  she  owns,  she 

*  This  is  rather  a  strange  affirmation  for  the  man  who  is  surnamed 
"  The  Father  of  Divorces." 


TIMES  -OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  11 

-considers  this  is  a  very  great  privation.  I  have  been  teased 
into  promising  to  put  together  some  showy  spectacle  for 
Covent  Garden;  and  the  Princess  insists  on  its  not  being 
produced  before  Easter  Monday,  as  she  says,  that  till  then 
she  has  no  hopes  of  being  allowed  to  visit  the  theatre. 

"I  am  quite  impatient  for  your  return  to  town,  not  only 
because  I  shall  be  very  glad  to  see  you  again,  but  for  your 
own  sake,  that  you  may  see  La  Perouse.  I  am  certain  you 
will  be  pleased  with  it  out  of  all  measure.  I  saw  it  the  other 
night,  and  was  quite  delighted:  and  I  promise  myself  great 
pleasure  in  seeing  the  pleasure  which  it  will  give  you. 
There  is  besides  a  new  actress,  a  Miss  Booth,  who  promises 
to  be  the  greatest  acquisition  that  the  stage  has  made  for 
many  years.  She  plays  Mrs.  Jordan's  characters  with  great 
sprightliness;  a  very  pretty  little  figure  (but  not  a  very 
pretty  face,  at  least,  to  my  taste;)  great  intelligence,  much 
appearance  of  sensibility  and  naivete,  and  above  all,  a  voice 
very  sweet,  touching,  aiukso  articulate,  that  it  can  be  heard 
all  over  the  house,  even  in  a  whisper.  She  dances,  too,  re- 
markably well,  and  is  very  good  in  pantomime.  The  only 
thing  in  which  she  fails,  is  her  singing,  which  is  abominable; 
but  I  trust,  (as  she  is  to  set  herself  to  the  study  of  music 
immediately,  with  all  her  might  and  main,)  perhaps,  she 
may  mend  this  deficiency. 

"  How  do  you  like  Thalaba?  There  are  always  so  many 
nothings  to  be  done  in  London  daily,  that  I  have  not  read 
ten  lines  for  the  last  ten  weeks,  till  I  came  to  Holland 
House,  where  I  have  galloped  through  two  volumes  of 
Madame  Du  Deftand's  Letters,  and  with  much  "amusement, 
though  the  anecdotes  are  in  themselves  of  no  great  value; 
still,  being  written  on  the  spot,  and  at  the  moment,  they 
have  a  vivacity  and  interest  which  make  one  read  letter 
after  letter  without  weariness.  The  extracts  from  Lord 
Orford's  letters  contain  frequently  excellent  things;  and, 
indeed,  in  Madame  Du  Deftand's  own  general  observations, 
there  is  much  good  sense  and  plain  truth;  but  that  sense 
and  truth,  being  generally  grounded  upon  knowledge  of  the 
world,  and  experience  of  its  inhabitants,  it  unfortunately 
follows,  of  course,  that  the  information  which  it  conveys, 
must  be  of  a  disagreeable  and  humiliating  complexion;  but 
what  puts  me  out  of  all  patience,  and  seems  to  me  quite 
hard-hearted,  is  Lord  Orford's  perpetually  torturing  the 
poor  old  blind  woman  upon  her  vanity  and  her  indiscretion, 


12  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

and  producing  all  her  defects  before  her  in  terrible  array, 
and  that  too,  in  the  most  unqualified  language.  Could  he 
expect,  that  at  eighty,  she  would  cure  herself  of  her  faults, 
or  that  if  time  had  not  rendered  her  discreet,  his  lectures 
would  ! — and  if  being  indiscreet,  contributed  to  her  amuse- 
ment, in  the  name  of  Heaven,  why  (situated  as  she  was) 
should  she  not  be  so.  I  really  think  that  this  plain  dealing 
with  a  poor  old  blind  woman,  who  had  passed  her  eighty  long 
years  in  frivolity,  vanity  and  dissipation,  something  bar- 
barous;'and  I  cannot  see  any  purpose  which  this  opening 
her  eyes  to  her  imperfections  could  possibly  answer,  except 
that  of  vexing  and  mortifying  her;  for,  as  to  correcting 
her,  she  must  have  been  long  past  that,  and  the  idea  was 
ridiculous,  though,  to  be  sure,  the  poor  old  soul  frequently 
promises  to  set  about  the  amendment  of  her  faults,  as  if 
she  was  a  little  school  girl,  which  is,  in  truth,  almost  as 
ridiculous  as  the  advice. 

"  Have  you  read  these  letters?  You  know,  of  course, 
that  they  were  edited  by  your  friend,  Miss  Berry,  who  has 
also  written  the  Preface,  the  Life,  and  the  Notes,  all  of 
which  are  most  outrageously  abused  by  many  persons, 
though,  in  my  opinion,  without  any  just  grounds.* 
"  Believe  me  ever  yours  truly, 

(Signed)  "M.G.LEWIS." 

To  day,  I  was  invited  to  dine  at  Kensington.  It  was  a 
private  dinner  party;  the  table  lighted  from  above,  and 
there  were  dumb  waiters. 

Thursday,  December. — This  was  the  Princess's  birth- 
day.    I  went  to  pay  my  respects. 

*  It  would  be  difficult  to  account  for  this  "  outrageous  abuse," 
were  it  not  an  established  fact,  that  all  women  who  meddle  with  li- 
terature, especially  those  in  the  higher  ranks  of  life,  place  themselves 
in  a  pillory,  at  which  every  impertinent  idler  conceives  he  has  a 
right  to  throw  his  rotten  eggs.  Miss  Berry,  has,  however,  estab- 
lished her  reputation  as  an  authoress,  in  spite  of  all  detraction.  Her 
comparative  veiw  of  social  life,  in  England  and  France,  is  assuredly 
one  of  the  best  written,  and  most  comprehensive  views  of  the  subject, 
which  can  issue  from  the  press,  and  combines  all  the  tact  of  woman's 
feeling,  with  the  strength  and  terseness  ascribed  to  male  intellect 
alone.  This  work,  so  superior  to  the  ephemeral  fictions  of  the  day, 
has  obtained  for  her  the  sober  and  lasting  suffrage  of  the  public. 
The  affection  and  admiration  of  a  wide  circle  of  friends,  (a  dearer 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  13 

Her  Royal  Highness  was  very  injudiciously  attired, — 

-wrapped  in  a  pink  dressing-gown.    Lady  C n  was 

with  her;  she  seemed  dead  tired  of  the  latter,  who  in  truth 
appears  to  be  a  dull  woman,  and  there  is  an  expression  in 
her  features  of  something  very  like  deceit,  and  a  sneer, 
which  makes  me  grave  in  despite  of  myself.  Shortly  after 
her  departure,  came  the  Duke  of  Brunswick.  He  paid  his 
sister  a  set  compliment,  and  gave  her  a  ring  of  no  value. — 
(N.  B.     All  princes  and  princesses  give  shabby  presents.) 

The  Duke  of  Brunswick  is  very  near  being  a  handsome 
man;  his  figure  is  light  and  graceful;  and  were  it  not  that 
he  carries  his  head  ill,  he  would  be  a  noble  looking  creature. 
His  eyes  are  deepisunk  in  his  head,  more  so  than  I  ever 
saw  in  any  one,  and  his  brows  are  remarkably  prominent, 
with  shaggy  eyebrows.  This  circumstance  gives  him  a 
sombre  expression,  and  indeed,  the  whole  cast  of  his  coun- 
tenance is  gloomy,  but  his  features  are  regular;  and  when 
lie  smiles,  there  is  a  transitory  sweetness  which  is  very 
striking,  by  the  contrast  to  his  usual  severity  of  expression. 
In  manner  he  is  very  reserved, — stiff  and  Germanic.  He 
remained  some  time  conversing  with  his  sister  in  German, 
eyeing  the  lady  in  waiting  occasionally  askance.  He 
seemed  glad  to  take  his  leave. 

Her  Royal  Highness,  the  old  Duchess  of  Brunswick, 
next  arrived,  and  still  I  was  desired  to  remain.  I  thought 
this  conference  would  never  end;  and  yet  it  seemed  not  to 
delight  either  party.  What  a  factitious  life!  The  Duchess 
appears  kind-hearted;  the  tears  rolled  down  her  cheeks  as 
she  said  the  poor  Princess  Amelia  cannot  live:  she  seemed 
really  aft'ected.  I  take  her  to  be  a  kind  hearted  upright 
woman,  but  not  in  the  least  clever,  very  slow  in  her  speech 
and  in  her  comprehension,  whereas  her  daughter  is  precisely 
the  reverse,  and  has  no  patience  with  the  repetition  of  phra- 
ses, and  the  lengthiness  of  histories,  for  which,  in  fact,  she 
feels  no  interest. 

To-day,  I  had  the  honour  of  meeting  the  Princess  Char- 
lotte, at  her  grandmother's.  She  is  very  clever,  but  has  at 
present  the  manners  of  a  hoyden  school  girl;  she  talked  all 
sorts  of  nonsense  to  me;  she  is  a  fine  piece  of  flesh  and 

boon  still,  to  one  whose  heart,  like  hers,  rests  its  happiness  on  them,) 
is  that  which  it  has  ever  been  her  privilege  to  call  her  own,  and 
their  pride  to  bestow. — Ed. 

vol.  I.  2 


14  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

blood,  but  can  put  on  dignity  when  she  chooses,  though  it 
seems  to  sit  uneasily  upon  her.  What  will  be  her  fate? 
It  is  impossible  not  to  feel  an  interest  in  any  human  being, 
upon  whom  such  a  weight  of  responsibility  is  placed. 

There  is  no  company  at  the  Duchess  of  Brunswick's,  but 
old  women  of  the  last  century,  and  naturally  the  Princess 
calls  this  a  dullification.  It  is  unwise  for  the  old  to  forget 
that  they  were  once  young;  this  it  is  which  always  put  the 
Princess  out  of  humour,  when  she  is  there,  and  she  yawns 
and  chews  it. 

There  was  a  Count  Munster  who  sat  next  to  me  at  din- 
ner, who  seems  quite  ill  placed  in  a  court;  for  he  appears 
to  me  to  be  a  delightful  and  a  particularly  sincere  person. 
He  expresses  himself  on  many  subjects  with  great  enthu- 
siasm, and  has  all  the  sentiment  of  a  German.  He  said 
Italy  was  a  country  in  which  one  should  not  live  too  long. 
I  asked  him,  "  Why?"  His  reply  was,  "  It  is  too  de- 
lightful." The  Princess  of  Wales  told  him  that  whatever 
little  good  she  had  in  her,  she  owed  it  to  his  mother,  who 
had  been  her  governess. 

One  day,  Her  Royal  Highness  said  to  me,  "  If  I  lived 
always  with  my  cousins,  the  royal  family;  and  if  they  were 
kind  to  me,  I  should  like  them,  and  care  for  them;  but  I 
cannot  say,  treating  me  as  they  do,  that  I  feel  that  affec- 
tion for  them  I  should  otherwise  feel,  except  indeed  for  my 
dear  old  uncle;  and  he,  poor  dear,  is  lost  to  me  now:  so  I 
confess,  all  I  am  afraid  of  is,  lest  the  Princess  Amelia  should 
die,  because  I  could  not  then  get  out  to  amuse  myself." 
There  was  a  levity  in  this  confession,  certainly,  but  yet 
there  was  a  sincerity  in  it,  which  made  me  auger  well  of 
the  ingenuousness  of  her  character. 

The  royal  family  had  sent  her  presents  on  h«r  birth-day; 
the  Queen,  a  very  handsome  aigrette,  which  the  young 
Princess  Charlotte  observed  was  really  pretty  well,  consi- 
dering who  sent  it.  She  then  laughed  heartily,  her  own 
peculiar  loud  but  musical  laugh. 

"  To-day,  I  received  the  following  letter  from  her  Royal 
Highness  the  Princess  of  Wales. 

"  Monday,  December  10,  1810. 
•'I  am  just  on  the  point  of  setting  out  for  the  Priory, 
my  dear  Lord ,  where  I  don't  expect  to  be  much  en- 
livened, but  go  partly  from  civility,  and  partly  from  curio- 
sity, to  make  the  acquaintance  with  the  '  Ida  of  Athens,' 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  15 

which  I  trust  will  gratify  my  search  for  knowledge,  or  my 
taste  for  quizzing. 

"There  is  nothing  new  here  under  the  sun,  since  you 
left  the  metropolis,  and  I  lead  literally  the  life  of  a  recluse, 
for  still  public  amusements  are  prohibited  for  the  present. 
Thanks  to  heaven,  no  Lord  Chamberlain  has  been  appointed 
yet,  otherwise  the  dear  operas  would  have  begun  by  this 
time,  and  I  should  have  felt  myself  obliged  to  renounce 
this  great  amusement.  The  parties  in  Hanover  Square, 
are  not  more  lively  than  they  were  last  winter  in  Spring 
Gardens,  except  we  miss  the  galanti  show,  which  was  ex- 
hibited, of  all  the  'old  fograms,  since  the  reign  of  George 
the  First,'  which,  r suppose,  was  intended  to  show  the  dif- 
ference that  existed  between  them  and  the  beauties  of 
Charles  the  Second,  painted  by  Sir  Peter  Lely;  but  I  am 
afraid  his  pencil,  as  that  of  Titian,  or  of  Marc  Angelo,* 
would  never  have  succeeded  in  making  them  rivals  of  that 
happy  century; — their  beauty  was  much  more  valued  and 
praised,  except  there  is  one  precedent,  which  will  remain 
on  record  in  the  Argyle  family.t  Your  letter  arrived  most 
welcomely,  as  there  had  been  various  reports  about  a  sus- 
pension d'armes,  an  armistice,  or  a  retreat,  resembling  that 
of  Massena;  but  all  this  puft"  must  have  been  merely  raised 
by  envy,  love  of  gossip,  and  newsmongers. 

"  I  intend  to  go  to  Blackheath,  before  Christmas,  to  take 
in  an  additional  stock  of  health,  and  strength,  and  spirits  for 
the  winter  campaign,  which  I  suspect  will  be  rather  longer 
than  usual,  parliament  having  met  so  early.  Blackheath 
will  be  called  Le  Palais  des  ....  i,  as  the  sleep  will  be 
the  most  predominant  amusement  and  relaxation,  other- 
wise I  would  feel  myself  dans  Pordre  de  la  Trappe,  be- 
ing with  my  lay  sister, §  Mrs.  Lisle,  who  has  taken  her 
resemblance  from  the  springing  skeleton.  If  any  body 
would  take  the  pains  to  write  my  biography,  they  would  in- 
form the  public,  that  for  some  secret  and  dreadful  crime  this 
penance  was  inflicted  upon  her.  This  is  the  way  one  may 
vouch  for  the  historian's  veracity;  but  as  I  natter  myself, 
that  this  wonderful  production  of  epistolary  punning  will 

•  It  would  appear  that  Her  Royal  Highness  was  not  very  learned 
in  vertu,  or  very  correct  in  nomenclature. 

t  I  suppose  Her  Royal  Highness  alluded  to  Lady  Charlotte  Camp- 
bell, the  beauty  of  the  Argyle  family,  of  that  day. 

$  This  word  is  illegible  in  the  original  letter. 

§  Rather  a  confusion  here  of  similes,  and  metaphors,  and  persons. 


16  MEMOIHS  OF  THE 

remain  in  (he  archives  of  (he  illustrious  family  of  the , 

that  upon  record,  matter  of  fact  reasons  of  my  absence 
from  Kensington  will  be  known. 

"  Believe  me,  for  ever, 

"  Your  most  sincere 

(Signed)  "C.  P." 

"P.  S. — As  much   as  you  may  admire  eccentricity,  I 

defy  any  person  of  taste  and  tact  to  admire  Miss  O •; 

she' is  just  what  Moliere  describes  so  well  in  one  of  his 
plays,  of  the  Precieuses  Ridicules,  very  plain,  and  has  an 
unpleasing  expression  in  her  countenance;  her  figure  is  the 
most  diminutive  I  ever  saw,  bo(h  in  height  and  breadth, 
without  manners  and  without  grace;  she  sings,  what  every 
other  person  would  call,  like  a  crow,  and  plays  the  harp, 
like  a  young  school  miss:  in  short,  I  trust  that  we  shall 
not  meet  again.*  And  1  can  easily  imagine,  that  all  men, 
except  the  Marquis,  hold  her  in  abhorrence." 

The  above  letter  may  convey  to  posterity  an  idea  of  the 
kind  of  ill-assorted  matter,  which  filled  the  mind  of  this 
unfortunate  Princess;  but  something  must  be  attributed  to 
her  want  of  knowledge  of  the  English  language,  and  much 
indulgence  may  be  extended  to  a  person  in  Her  Royal 
Highness's  situation,  who  was  constantly  goaded  publicly 
and  privately,  to  irritation — a  fact,  which  she  was  too  proud 
to  acknowledge,  but  which  made  her  take  refuge  in  an  affect- 
ed jocularity,  and  a  pretence  to  wit- 
Mr.  Ward  is  certainly  a  clever  man.  He  is  frequently 
one  of  the  Kensington  guests;  indeed,  there  is  a  great  and 
laudable  wish  on  the  part  of  the  Princess  to  a((ract  extra- 
ordinary persons  around  her;  this  desire  properly  directed 
might  turn  to  her  own  advantage,  and  that  of  those  who  be- 
long to  her;  but  it  evaporates  in  vanity,  and  produces  no 
effectual  improvement  in  her  society.     Mr.  Wardf  is  a 

*  This  abuse  is,  and  will  be  thought  by  most  readers  to  be  unjust 

and  false,  and  seems  dictated  by  some  private  pique.   Did  Miss  O 

ever  offend  Her  Royal  Higlmess,  wlio  was  in  general  a  good  hu- 
moured person?     Miss  O ,  now  Lady  M ,  was  far  removed 

above  tbe  reach  of  such  squibs;  and  her  decided  superiority  of  ta- 
lent ranks  her  amongst  those  who  depend  not  on  royal  favour  for 
success. — Ed. 

f  Afterwards  Lord  Dudley,  who  promised  much,  performed  little, 
and  died  mad. 


TTMES  OF  GEORE  THE  FOURTH.  17 

man  concerning  whom  great  expectations  are  formed,  and 
various  parties  look  at  him  as  a  card  which,  in  their  own 
hands,  they  might  like  to  play;  but  there  is  something  un- 
certain and  wayward  about  him,  which,  just  as  one  is  going 
to  like  him,  prevents  one's  doing  so — though  I  was  very 
near  the  mark  the  other  night  in  favour  of  what  he  said  of 
the  moon.*  The  Princess  calls  Mr.  Forbest  Mr.  Fobb. — 
There  is  something  ludicrously  appropriate  in  this  mispro- 
nunciation, I  cannot  tell  why. 

Again,  I  received  a  note  from  Her  Royal  Highness;  the 
following  is  a  curious  extract  from  it: — 

"  The  only  astonishing  news  I  can  offer  you  is,  that  the 
Regent  is  dangerously  ill;  still  I  am  not  sanguine  enough 
to  flatter  myself  that  the  period  to  all  my  troubles  and  mis- 
fortunes is  yet  come — yet  one  must  hope  for  the  best. — Ever 
yours,  "  C.  P." 

This  day,  dined  at  Kensington,  en  petit  comite:  no  ser- 
vants, but  dumb  waiters.  These  dinners  are  peculiarly 
agreeably — nothing  to  impede  the  flow  of  soul,  whatever 
there  may  be  of  the  feast  of  reason.  The  Princess  gave  a 
long  detailed  account  of  her  marriage,  and  the  circum- 
stances which  brought  it  about.  "  I, — you  know,  was  the 
victim  of  mammon;  the  Prince  of  Wales's  debts  must  be 
paid,  and  poor  little  I's  person  was  the  pretence.  Parlia- 
ment would  vote  supplies  for  the  Heir-Apparent's  marriage,- 
the  King  would  help  his  little  help.  A  Protestant  Princess 
must  be  found — they  fixed  upon  the  Prince's  cousin.  To 
tell  you  God's  truth,  [a.  favourite  expression,]  I  always 
hated  it;  but  to  oblige  my  father,  any  thing.     But  the  first 

moment  I  saw  my  fidur  and  Lady  J y  together,  I  knew 

how  it  all  was,  and  I  said  to  myself,  'Oh,  very  well!'  I 
took  my  partie — and  so  it  would  have  been,  if — but,  Oh, 
mine  God!"  she  added,  throwing  up  her  head,  "  I  could  be 
the  slave  of  a  man  I  love;  but  to  one  whom  I  loved  not, 
and  who  did  not  love  me, — impossible — c'est  autre  chose» 

"One  of  the  civil  things  His  Royal  Highness  did  just  at 
first,  was  to  find  fault  with  my  shoes;  and  as  I  was  very 

•  Madame  de  Stael  said  of  him,  he  was  the  only  man  of  sentiment 
she  had  met  with  in  England! 

f  Now  Minister  at  Dresden,  a  remarkably  clever,  agreeable  per- 
son,— Ed. 

2* 


18  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

young  and  lively  in  those  days,  1  told  him  to  make  me  a 
better  pair,  and  bring  them  to  me.  I  brought  letters  from 
all  the  Princes  and  Princesses  to  him  from  all  the  petty 
courts,  and  1  tossed  them  to  him,  and  said,  "  There — that's 
to  prove  I'm  not  an  impostor.'  " 

Lady  Oxford  observed,  "  Well,  Madam,  it  is  the  most 
surprising  thing  in  the  world;  that  the  Prince  was  not  des- 
perately in  love  with  your  Royal  Highness."  "Not  at 
all,"  she  replied:  "in  the  first  place,  very  few  husbands 
love  their  wives;  and  1  confess,  the  moment  one  is  obliged 
to  marry  any  person,  it  is  enough  to  render  them  hateful. 
Had  I  come  over  here  as  a  Princess  with  my  father  on  a 
visit,  as  Mr.  Pitt  once  wanted  my  father  to  have  done, 
things  might  have  been  very  different:  but  what  is  done 
cannot  be  undone." 

"What  a  delightful  court  we  should  have  now,"  said 
one  of  the  party,  "if  Her  Royal  Highness  was  Queen!" 
"  I  never  wish  to  be  Queen,"  replied  the  Princess;  "the 
Queen's  mother  is  enough  for  me." 

Lord  Abercorn  was,  at  this  time,  a  great  friend  of  the 
Princess's;  he  frequently  wrote  to  her,  and  was  very  cu- 
rious to  know  how  she  got  on  with  a  new  person  who  had 
lately  come  to  her  court.  This  lady  had  once  been  in  his 
society,  but  had  not  seen  him  for  years:  "I  will  not  satisfy 
his  curiosity,"  said  the  Princess;  "  let  him  come  and  see;"' 
but  he  came  not. 

To-day,  the  Princess  was  in  one  of  her  most  communi- 
cative humours.  Poor  thing!  she  was  always  looking  about 
for  some  one  to  pour  out  her  heart  to,  and  never  found  one. 
Some  dared  not  listen  to  her,  others  would  not,  and  others, 
again,  did  so  only  to  answer  their  own  purposes;  but  as  she 
was  quick  at  reading  characters,  she  often  set  the  latter 
upon  a  wrong  scent,  which  was  amusing  enough.  In  ge- 
neral, when  1  had  the  honour  of  being  invited  to  Kensing- 
ton, I  avoided  all  questions,  and  endeavoured  neither  to 
deceive  nor  be  deceived;  but  sometimes  it  was  next  to  im- 
possible not  to  ask  a  question,  or  make  an  observation, 
which  the  next  moment  was  repented  of.  For  instance, 
when  she  inveighed  against  England  and  the  British  court, 
I  asked  her  if  she  had  left  Brunswick  with  regret:  "  Not  at 
all;  1  was  sick,  tired  of  it;  but  I  was  sorry  to  leave  my  fa- 
ther. I  loved  my  father  dearly,  better  nor  any  oder  per- 
son;" and  the  tears  poured  over  her  face.  "I  will  tell 
you,"  she  went  on  to  say,  and  she  mastered  her  emotion — 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH. 


19 


"  I  will  tell  you,  there  is  none  affection  more  powerful  than 
dat  we  feel  for  a  good  fader;  but  dere  were  some  unlucky 
tings  in  our  court,  which  made  my  position  difficult.  My 
fader  was  most  entirely  attached  to  a  lady  for  thirty  years,  , 
who  in  fact  was  his  mistress;  she  was  the  beautiful  lest  crea- 
ture, and  the  cleverest;  but,  though  my  father  continued 
to  pay  my  moder  all  possible  respect,  my  poor  moder  could 
not  suffer  this  attachment,  and  de  consequence  was,  1  did 
not  know  what  to  do  between  them;  when  I  was  civil  to 
the  one,  I  was  scolded  by  the  other,  and  was  very  tired  of 
being  shuttlecock  between  them."* 

The  Princess  had  a  custom,  when  she  drove  out,  of  never 
giving  an  order,  but  pointing  to  the  quarter  to  which  she 
wished  to  be  driven.  The  postillion  watched  her  eye, 
and  with  wonderful  quickness  took  the  direction  which  it 
(and  it  alone,  very  often)  designated.  I  have  wondered 
sometimes,  what  this  dumb-show  mystery  meant;  I  can  only 
account  for  it  by  believing  that  royal  persons  divert  them- 
selves with  very  puerile  devices,  and  that  they  play  at  se- 
crets, as  children  do  at  hide-and-seek. 

The  Princess  sometimes  goes  to  see  the  Duke  of  Bruns- 
wick's two  boys.f  She  climbs  to  the  very  top  of  a  house 
at  Vauxhall,  where  they  are  living,  and  having  talked  for 
some  time  to  them,  goes  away  again.  These  visits  do  not 
seem  to  afford  either  party  much  pleasure.  She  complains 
that  they  are  frightful  to  look  upon. 

The  Princess  often  does  the  most  extraordinary  things, 
apparently  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  make  her  attend- 
ants stare.  Very  frequently,  she  will  take  one  of  her  ladies 
along  with  her,  to  walk  in  Kensington  Gardens — who  are  ac- 
cordingly dressed — [it  may  be3  in  a  costume  very  unsuited 
to  the  public,  highway;  and,  all  of  a  sudden,  she  will  bolt 
out  at  one  of  the  smaller  gates,  and  walk  all  over  Bays- 
water,  and  along  the  Paddington  Canal,  at  the  risk  of  being 
insulted,  or,  if  known,  mobbed, — enjoying  the  terror  of 
the  unfortunate  attendant  who  may  be  destined  to  walk 
after  her.  One  day,  Her  Royal  Highness  inquired  at  all 
the  doors  of  Bayswater  and  its  neighbourhood,  if  there  were 
any  houses  to  be  l«t,  and  went  into  many  of  them,  till  at 
last  she  came  to  one,  where  some  children  of  a  friend  of 

*  In  this  fact  there  is  the  seed  sown,  which  brought  forth  the 
rankest  weeds. — Ed. 

f  One  of  these  is  the  ex-Duke  of  Brunswick,  who  went  up  the  other 
day  in  a  balloon,  and  is  not  a  little  eccentric. — Ed. 


20  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

hers  (Lord  H.  F.)  were  placed  for  change  of  air,  and  she 
was  quite  enchanted  to  be  known  by  them,  and  to  boast  of 
her  extraordinary  mode  of  walking  over  the  country. 

Sometimes  the  Princess  philosophizes;  here  is  a  sample 
of  her  philosophy.  She  said  one  day,  "  Suspense  is  very 
great  bore,  but  we  live  only  de  poor  beings  of  de  hour — 
and  we  ought  always  to  try  to  make  us  happy  so  long  we 
do  live.  To  tell  you  God's  truth," — her  favourite  expres- 
sion, not  always  used  appropriately, — "To  tell  you  God's 
truth,  I  have  had  as  many  vexations  as  most  people;  but 
we  must  make  up  vons  mind  to  enjoy  de  good,  spite  of  de 
bad;  and  I  mind  now  de  last  no  more  dan  dat,"  snapping 
her  fingers. 

Princess  Charlotte  came  pretty  frequently  to  K n  at 

this  epoch.  Lady  De  Clifford  was  then  her  governess — 
that  is  to  say,  so  named,  for  the  Princess  is  her  own  gover- 
ness. 

The  Princess  of  Wales  speaks  highly  of  Mrs.  Fitzher- 
bert;  she  always  says,  "  that  is  the  Prince's  true  wife;  she 
is  an  excellent  woman;  it  is  a  great  pity  for  him  he  ever 
broke  vid  her.  Do  you  know  I  know  de  man  who  was 
present  at  his  marriage,  the  late  Lord  B d.*  He  de- 
clared to  a  friend  of  mine,  that  when  he  went  to  inform 
Mrs.  Fitzheibert  that  the  Prince  had  married  me,  she 
would  not  believe  it,  for  she  knew  she  was  herself  married 
to  him." 

The  Princess  took  great  pleasure  in  explaining  the  state 
of  politics  and  parties.  She  thought  she  had  it  all  at  her 
fingers'  ends,  because  she  had  lived  with  Canning  and  Mr. 
Perceval;  but  she  saw  every  thing  through  the  mist  of  her 
own  passions  and  prejudices;  and  consequently,  saw  every 
thing  falsely.  She  used  to  say,  "the  nation  will  go  safe 
enough,  whoever  are  de  ministers,  so  long  as  de  King  lives; 
but  when  he  dies  every  ting  will  be  overturned.  You  will 
see,  mark  my  words.  The  House  of  Commons  do  now 
busy  themselves  with  trifles,  which  they  had  better  let 
alone.     'Mais  il  faut  etre  juste.'     Ministers  would  never 

have  brought  in  the  Duke  of  Y 's  business  had  he  not 

misled  them.  Had  he  told  them  the  truth,  confided  in 
them,  and  said,  I  have  committed  a  folly,  save  me  from  ex- 
posure, I  will  do  so  no  more,  he  would  have  been  saved, 
and  de  constitution  too,  perhaps,  for  the  business  would* 

•  Probably  0 o  B n,  that  was. 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  21 

have  been  hushed  up; — but  no,  his  friends  believed  that  he 
was  intact;  (our  friends  do  more  harm  than  enemies  some- 
times:) they  said  the  more  the  matter  is  investigated,  the 
more  it  will  be  to  his  honour.  You  saw  how  de  matter 
turnout," — and  she  shrugged  her  shoulders.  "I  do  as- 
sure you — to  tell  you  God's  truth, — had  those  letters  been 
published,  which  were  brought  up,  they  might  have  pro- 
duced a  revolution;  for  they  not  only  told  all  that  is  true, 
but  a  great  deal  that  is  not  true." 

The  Princess  was  in  the  habit  of  saying  jocularly,  I  have 
nine  children*  And  when  her  hearers  laughed  at  the  joke 
as  such  she  would  say,  "  It  is  true,  upon  honour;  dat  is  to 
say,  I  take  care  of  eight  boys*  and  one  girl;  the  girl  I  took 
by  a  very  romantic  accident.  In  the  time  of  the  disturban- 
ces in  Ireland,  a  man  and  woman,  apparently  of  the  better 
class,  left  a  female  infant  with  a  poor  old  peasant  woman, 
who  lives  at  Blackheath,  and  with  the  infant,  a  sum  of 
money  sufficient  to  support  it  a  certain  time;  but  the  time 
elapsed,  the  money  was  spent,  and  no  one  came  to  supply 
the  old  woman  with  means  for  the  babe's  future  exigencies; 
so  she  came  to  me  and  told  her  story,  and  asked  what  she 
should  do.  At  first  I  thought  of  putting  the  child  to  the 
parish,  but  somehow  I  could  not  bear  that,  so  it  ended  in 
my  taking  charge  of  the  infant  entirely  at  my  own  expense. 
She  is  now  at  school  at  Bajh,  under  the  care  of  a  Mrs. 
Twiss,  sister  of  Mrs.  Siddons.  1  have  not  seen  the  child 
for  five  years,  and  do  not  mean  to  see  her  till  she  is  grown 
up:  she  is  now  twelve  years  old."f 

It  appears  to  me,  said  the  Princess  one  day,  that  jealousy 

and    politics   are    untying   the   knot   of    Lord    A 

H 's  love  for  Lady  O d;  it  is  said  that  Lady 

O d  visits   Mr.   O'Connell  and  Sir  F B tj 

every  day,  and  Lord  A d  does  not  approve;  but  the 

greater  reason  still,  is,  that  the  Lady  prefers  Lord  G r.§ 

*  "  De  boys  shall  serve  de  King.— My  good  friend,  Sir  J.  B.,  will 
take  care  of  some." 

f  Afterwards  the  Princess  took  this  child,  then  grown  up,  abroad 
with  her.     She  married,  but  1  never  heard  what  became  of  her. 

t  Sir  F B 1,  if  it  be  he  who  is  meant, — in  1813  and  1833, 

is  a  very  different  person. — En. 

_  §  If  ever  Lord  G r  was  in  such  ignoble  thrall  it  could  not  hold 

him  long.  lie  was  too  high,  too  noble,  too  much  above  the  coarse- 
ness of  manner  and  mind  of  that  lady  to  become  lor  any  length  of 
time  ensnared — Ed. 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


The  Princess's  villa  at  Blackhcath,  is  an  incongruous 
piece  of  patch -work;  it  may  dazzle  for  a  moment  when 
lighted  up  at  night,  but  it  is  all  glitter  and  glare,  and  trick, 
every  thing  is  tinsel  and  trumpery  about  it;  it  is  altogether 
like  a  bad  dream. 

One  day,  the  Princess  showed  me  a  large  book,  in  which 
she  had  written,  characters  of  a  great  many  of  the  leading 
persons  in  England';  she  read  me  some  of  them;  they  were 
drawn  with  spirit,  but  I  could  not  form  any  opinion  of  their 
justice — first,  because  a  mere  outline,  however  boldly 
sketched,  cannot  convey  a  faithful  portraiture  of  character; 
and  secondly,  because  many  of  the  persons  mentioned 
therein  were  unknown  to  me.  Upon  the  whole,  these  cha- 
racters impressed  me  with  a  high  opinion  of  her  discern- 
ment and  power  of  expression — not  that  it  was  good  Eng- 
lish, but  that  it  was  strong  sense — but  how  dangerous!  If 
that  book  exists,  it  would  form  a  curious  episode  in  the  me- 
moirs of  those  times. 

The  Princess  told  one  of  her  friends  one  day,  who  re- 
peated it  to  me,  that  her  life  had  been  an  eventful  one 
from  her  earliest  years — that  at  one  period,  she  was  to  have 
been  married  to  the  uncle  of  the  Queen  of  Prussia — at  ano- 
ther, to  the  Prince  of  Orange — at  another,  to  this  Queen's 
brother;  the  latter  she  said  was  a  most  agreeable  man,  not 
at  all  ugly,  and  very  pleasant  in  his  manners — that  she  had 
liked  him  very  much  as  a  friend,  but  nothing  more. — Prince 
George  of  Darmstadt  \l  think  that  was  the  name  she  gave 
the  Queen  of  Prussia's  uncle)  was  a  very  handsome  man, 
tall,  light,  yet  not  too  thin.  "  He  turned  all  de  women's 
heads  except  mine.  I  liked  him  very  much,  but  he  was 
very  perfide  to  me — a  false  perfidious  friend.  It  was  he 
who  was  the  lover  of  the  late  Queen  of  France,  and  he  was 
the  real  father  of  the  last  Dauphin.  Just  before  I  came  to 
this  country  I  was  very  unhappy.  My  father  said  to  me, 
if  I  would  marry  on  the  continent,  he  never  wished  to  get 
rid  of  me,  or  to  send  meaway;  but  if  I  was  determined  not 
to  marry,  that  this  situation  which  presented  itself  seemed 
sent  by  Providence  to  my  advantage,  and  he  would  not 
suffer  me  to  slight  it.  So,  as  a  drowning  wretch  catches  at 
a  straw,  I  caught  at  this  crown  and  sceptre;  but  if  I  had 
not  been  miraculously  supported,  I  could  not  have  out- 
lived all  I  have  done:  there  are  moments  when  one  is  su- 
pernatu rally  helped.''  The  Princess  became  very  grave 
after  this  conversation,  and  soon  retired. 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  23 

The  Princess  of  Wales  is  not  what  I  think  a  female  cha- 
racter should  be,  but  she  has  a  bold  and  independent  mind, 
which  is  a  principal  ingredient  in  the  formation  of  a  great 
queen  or  an  illustrious  woman. 

The  Princess  Charlotte  always  dines  with  her  mother  on 
Saturdays;  this  day  Her  Royal  Highness  came  with  Lady 
De  Clifford  and  the  Duke  of  Brunswick.  As  soon  as  she 
grows  intimate  with  any  one,  she  gives  way  to  her  natural 
Feelings,  and  there  is  an  openness  and  candour  in  her  con- 
versation which  is  very  captivating.  I  pity  her  that  she  is 
born  to  be  a  queen — she  would  be  a  much  happier  being  if 
she  were  a  private  individual.  I  cannot  make  out  what 
the  Duke  of  Brunswick's  character  really  is.  The  Princess 
of  Wales  seems  fond  of  him,  yet  as  she  never  speaks  open- 
ly of  him,  I  conceive  there  is  something  about  him  which 

does  not   please  her.     A  son  of  Lord  H.  F d  dined 

at  K n,  a  boy  of  about  fourteen  years  of  age,  who  ap- 
peared uncommonly  clever  and  very  agreeable.  He  is 
being  educated  at  Westminister;  I  asked  him  many  ques- 
tions about  the  school,  which  he  answered  most  intelli- 
gently; but  from  all  I  can  learn,  the  Etonians  are  more 
polished;  perhaps  I  am  partial  to  the  school  at  which  I  was 
myself  educated. 

Lady  De  Clifford  seems  to  be  a  good-natured,  common- 
place person,  and  the  young  Princess  appears  attached  to 
her,  which  is  a  good  indication  of  her  ladyship's  temper. 

The  dinner  over,  which  always  weighs  heavy  on  the  Prin- 
cess, when  composed  of  a  family  party  only,  Her  Royal 
Highness  recovered  her  natural  gaiety,  as  soon  as  she  re- 
turned to  the  drawing-room,  and  began  talking  eagerly  to 
Lady  De  Clifford  en  Ute-a-tile.  The  Princess  Charlotte 
ran  from  one  end  of  the  room  to  the  other  to  fetch  herself 
a  chair.  I  rose  and  said  how  shocked  I  was,  that  her  Royal 
Highness  had  not  commanded  me  to  do  her  bidding.  "  Oh !" 
said  her  mother,  "  I  assure  you  she  likes  it;  it  is  an  amuse- 
ment for  her;  she  is  kept  so  very  strict,  it  is  like  feeling 
herself  at  liberty  to  fly  about, — is  it  not,  Lady  De  Clif- 
ford?" To  which  the  latter  replied  sharply,  "I  assure 
your  Royal  Highness,  the  Princess  Charlotte  has  liberty 
enough  with  me."  This  retort  again  produced  a  stiffness, 
and  the  time  seemed  to  drag  on  heavily  until  the  Princess 
Charlotte  and  the  Duke  of  Brunswick  withdrew,  when  we 

went  to  the  Opera.     Mr.  Ward,  Mr.  H.  F d,  Mr. 

L He,  Mr.  Lewis,  Mr.  North,  and  Mr.  Macdonald 


24  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

came  to  pay  their  respects  in  her  box.*  Mr. Lewis  the  au- 
thor of  "  The  Monk,"  was  not,  however,  a  very  suitable 
attendant  upon  royalty.  Mr.  Ward  was  clever  and  plea- 
sing; but  her  Royal  Highness  was  not,  upon  the  whole, 
much  nattered  by  her  visiters,  neither  had  she  much  cause 
to  be  so. 

Sunday. — There  was,  as  is  customary  on  this  clay,  a 
large   party  at  Kensington — but  it  was  not  so  pleasant  a 

dinner  as   usual,  for  the  Duchess  of  R d  and  her 

daughter  with   Lady  S y  and  her  daughter,   also, 

rendered  it  rather  formal — and  it  troubled  the  Princess  to 
make  herself  agreeable  to  them. 

After  dinner,  there  was  an  addition  of  Mrs.  Poole, t  Mrs. 
Lock, J  Lady  Dunmore,  &c,  and  professional  singers — 
Pucitta,  his  wife,  Naldi,  and  Tremazotti.  The  music  was 
procured  only  for  the  sake  of  making  a  noise — as  it  is  merely 
an  affair  of  custom  with  the  Princess  to  have  musicians,  in 
order  that  it  may  be  said  she  has  had  a  concert;  cats  would 

do  just  as  well.     Lord  A d  H n  was  in  a  bad 

humour  with  Lady  0 dj  consequently,  with  every- 
body else.     She  is   only  seeking  an  excuse  to  break  with 

him,  in  order  to  pursue  a  new  intrigue  with  Lord  G r. 

The  latter  is  much  too  good  for  her. — These  worldly  in- 
trigues are  melancholy  proofs  of  depravity — long  attach- 
ments, even  when  not  sanctioned  by  morality,  excite  com- 
passion ;  but  the  ephemeral  fires  of  passion,  intrigue,  in- 
terest and  pleasure,  are  loathsome. 

The  Princess  dined  with  her  mother  the  Duchess  of  Bruns- 
wick.   The  Duchess  of  R- d,  her  two  daughters,  and  the 

Princess  Charlotte  formed  the  principal  part  of  the  company; 
the  Duke  of  Brunswick  and  myself  were  the  only  gentlemen. 
He  is  very  silent,  and  appears  to  be  somewhat  of  a  misan- 
thrope. 

The  Princess  went  to  the  play,  a  resource  she  always  re- 
serves to  herself,  to  escape  from  a  dull  dinner.  She  was 
accompanied  by  Lord  Fitz — d,  her  lady  in  waiting,  and 

•  If  Mr.  L lie  means  Mr.  Luttrell,  that  man  so  famed  for  wit 

and  for  eating,  he  was  a  kind  and  constant  adherent  to  her  Royal 
Highness,  and  proved  his  attachment  by  accepting  frequent  invita- 
tions to  very  bad  food  and  worse  wine. — En. 

•J-  Now  Lady  Maryborough. 

%  The  once  beautiful  Mrs.  Lock,  La  belle  Jennings  de  son  temps. 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  25 

myself.  After  the  play,  I  was  invited  to  sup  with  her 
Royal  Highness — as  usual,  she  talked  of  her  own  situation, 
and  her  previous  life.  "Judge,"  said  she,  "  what  it  was 
to  have  a  drunken  husband  on  one's  wedding-day,  and  one 
who  passed  the  greatest  part  of  Ins  bridal  night  under  the 
grate  where  he  fell,  and  where  I  left  him.  If  any  body 
say  to  me  at  dis  moment  will  you  pass  your  life  over  again, 
or  be  killed,  I  would  choose  death,  for  you  know,  a  little 
sooner  or  later,  we  must  all  die;  but  to  live  a  life  of  wretch- 
edness twice  over, — oh!  mine  God,  no.  Well  time  went 
on,  and  de  case  was,  I  began  to  be  wid  child,  and  all  de 
wise  people  said  so;,  but  I  pitied  clem,  for  I  no  more  be- 
lieved it  dan  any  ting  for  longtime — at  last,  Charlotte  was 
born.  Well,  after  1  lay  in, — je  vous  jure  'tis  true;  upon 
my  honour,  upon  my  soul,  'tis  true, — I  received  a  message, 
through  Lord  Cholmondeley,  to  tell  me  I  never  was  to 
have  de  great  honour  of  inhabiting  de  same  room  wid  my 
husband  again.  I  said  very  well — but,  as  my  memory  was 
short,  I  begged  to  have  dis  polite  message  in  writing  from 
him.  I  had  it — and  vas  free — I  left  Carlton  House,  and 
went  to  Charlton.  Oh!  how  happy  I  was — everybody 
blamed  me,  but  I  never  repented  me  of  dis  step.  Oh!  mine 
God,  what  [  have  suffered — luckily,  I  had  a  spirit,  or  I 
never  should  have  outlived  it."  She  said  more,  but  I  can 
never  remember  all  she  says.  Poor  Princess!  she  was  an 
ill-treated  woman,  but  a  very  wrong-headed  one.  Had 
she  remained  quietly  at  Carlton  House  and  conducted  her- 
self with  silent  dignity,  how  different  might  have  been  her 
lot.  It  is  true,  as  her  Privy  Purse,  Miss  H — -n  once 
told  a  person  of  my  acquaintance,  she  was  so  insulted 
whilst  there,  that  every  bit  of  furniture  was  taken  out  of 
the  room  she  dined  in,  except  two  shabby  chairs;  and  the 
pearl -bracelets,  which  had  been   given  her  by  the  Prince, 

were  taken  from  her  to  decorate  the  arms  of  Lady  J y. 

Still,  had  the  Princess  had  the  courage  which  arises  from 
principle,  and  not  that  which  is  merely  the  offspring  of  a 
daring  spirit,  she  would  have  sat  out  the  storm,  and  wea- 
thered it. 

The  Princess,  in  one  of  her  confidential  humours,  de- 
clared she  believed  that  "  Lady  II d  was  a  woman  of 

intact  virtue — it  is  only  a  liaison  of  vanity  on  her  part  with 
my  better  half,  but  it  will  not  last  long,  she  is  too  formal 
for  him."*     I  dined  with  the  Princess  and  Lady  Charlotte 

*  These  words  were  quickly  verified  in  another  attachment  to  a 
Vol.  i.  3 


26  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

Lindsay,  the  latter  a  most  amiable  and  delightful  person'; 
but  she  is  so  witty  and  so  very  brilliant,  so  full  of  repartee, 
that  her  society  dazzles  iny  duller  senses;  and,  instead  of 
being  exhilarated  by  it,  I  become  lowered.*  I  often  say  to 
myself  in  society,  "  Oh!  trouverai-je  ma  placeP''' — Total 
retirement,  secondary  intellect,  secondary  rank  does  not 
suit  me — yet  the  world  and  the  first  circles,  and  the  wit- 
tiest and  the  prettiest  suit  me  not  either — 'tis  not  affecta- 
tion, 'tis  a  melancholy  truth. 

In  speaking  of  Mr.  Ward  one  day,  the  Princess  said,  "  I 
will  tell  you  what  Mr.  Ward  is.  He  is  a  man  all  of  vanity 
— he  would  marry  for  money  or  Parliamentary  interest,  or 
to  a  very  fashionable  woman,  who  would  make  a  fool  of 
him;  but  though  il  joue  le  sentiment,  sometimes,"  she  said, 
shaking  her  head,  "  I  do  not  believe  he  has  one  grain  of  it 
in  his  composition — did  you  ever  observe  how  he  eats?  just 
like  a  hog  with  his  snout  sucking  in  a  trough." 

*  ***** 

A  long  lapse  in  my  journal.  My  own  life  during  this 
time,  has  been  far  more  interesting  to  me  than  when  in  the 
busy  scenes  of  court  life,  for  I  have  spent  the  hours  with 

.     She  left  town  to-day;  so  I  had  nothing  to  do  but 

to  take  to  my  books  and  my  violin  etje  me  stiisfait  raiso??,- 
but  it  is  a  hard  work,  and  an  ugly  man ufac lure.     Lord 

G — bie  paid    me  a  visit,  and  announced  Lord  G d's 

marriage  with  Miss  B. — I  don't  know  why,  but  I  felt  sorry; 
what  business  has  that  old  drunken  man  to  marry  so  late 
in  the  day?  I  received  Her  Royal  Highness's  commands 
to  dine  with  her.  She  had  been  very  ill  with  an  altaque 
de  bile,  as  she  called  it,  and  was  lying  on  her  sofa.  After 
some  attempts  at  conversation,  which  I  had  no  spirits  to 
keep  up,  I  asked  leave  to  read  to  Her  Royal  Highness,  and 
I  began  Les  Malheurs  de  P Inconstance,  and  at  seven,  din- 
ner was  announced;  the  lady  in  waiting  and  myself,  were 
the  only  company,  for  every  person  who  had  been  invited, 
sent  an  excuse,  except  Mr.  W.,  who  neither  sent  nor  came 
— how  rude;  these  indignities  were,  however,  in  a  great 
measure  brought  down  upon  herself  by  her  own  conduct. 

younger  and  more  beautiful  woman,  but  one  not  calculated  to  be  so 
judicious  or  true  a  friend. 

*  What  bad  taste!!  if  ever  there  was  wit  whicb  could  exhilarate 
without  wounding,  or  inspire  gaiety  without  thorns,  Lady  C.  Lind- 
say's was  of  that  peculiar  quality,  and  it  was  difficult  to  decide  whe- 
ther her  powers  of  amusing,  or  her  qualities  to  command  esteem  and 
love,  were  most  pre-eminent. — Ed. 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE   THE    FOURTH.  27 

How  true  it  is,  that  vulgar  familiarity  breeds  contempt. 
The  Princess  was  very  ill  during  dinner-time;  neverthe- 
less, she  would  go  to  the  play  for  the  sake  of  her  little  pro- 
tege Willikin,  as  she  called  him,  whose  birth-day  it  was. 
There  was  nobody  at  the  play  in  her  box,  but  Lord   H. 

F d.     My  nobody  is,  however,  somebody's  every  body. 

What  is  it  makes  me  find  the  hours  and  days  so  long? 
Hours  and  days  are  coloured  by  our  fancy,  not  by  the  sun 
or  by  the  shade  of  nature. 

The  next  day,  I  again  dined  at  Kensington.     Sir  Harry 

Englefield,   Mr.  Gell*,    Lady  O d    were   the   only 

guests.  I  was  tired  to  death;  oh,  yes,  to  the  death  of  all 
pleasure. 

One  day.  the  Princess  set  out  to  walk,  accompanied  by 
myself  and  one  of  her  ladies,  round  Kensington  Gardens. 
At  last,  being  wearied,  Her  Royal  Highness  sat  down  on  a 
bench  occupied  by  two  old  persons,  and  she  conversed  with 
them,  to  my  infinite  amusement,  they  being  perfectly  ig- 
norant who  she  was.  She  asked  them  all  manner  of  ques- 
tions about  herself,  to  which  they  replied  favourably;  but 
her  lady,  I  observed,  was  considerably  alarmed,  and  was 
obliged  to  draw  her  veil  over  her  face  to  prevent  betraying 
herself,  and  every  moment  I  was  myself  afraid  that  some- 
thing not  so  favourable  might  be  expressed  by  these  good 
people;  fortunately,  this  was  not  the  case,  and  Her  Royal 
Highness  walked  away  undiscovered,  having  informed  them 
that  if  they  would  be  at  such  a  door  at  such  an  hour  at  the 
palace  on  any  day,  they  would  meet  with  the  Princess  of 
Wales,  to  see  whom  they  expressed  the  strongest  desire. 
This  Haroun  Al-Raschid  expedition  passed  oft'  happily, 
but  I  own  I  dreaded  its  repetition.  It  is  said  that  listeners 
hear  no  good  of  themselves.  That  evening,  as  the  carriage 
drove  up  to  the  door  to  take  the  Princess  to  the  Opera,  the 
box  on  which  the  coachman  sat,  broke,  fell  upon  the  horses, 
frightened  them,  and  threw  oft"  the  unfortunate  man,  who, 
in  the  fall,  broke  his  leg.  The  Princess  was  shocked,  but 
not  sufficiently  to  prevent  her  from  going  to  the  Opera. 
Royal  nerves  are  made  of  tough  materials. 

Sunday. — As  usual  to-day,  there  was  a  large  dinner 
party.  After  myself,  Lord  Rivers  was  the  first  arrival; 
and  the  Princess,  not  being  yet  dressed,  we  had  a  Ute-a- 

•  Afterwards  Sir  William  Gell — well  known  in  the  scientific  and 
literary  world — and  best  liked  by  those  who  knew  him  most:  simple^ 
minded,  kind-hearted  and  true. — Ed. 


28  MEMOIRS    OF   THE 

tele.  He  is  a  pleasant  and  an  elegant  man — one  of  the  last 
of  that  race  of  persons,  who  were  the  dandies  of  a  former 
century,  and  how  much  preferable  were  they  to  those  of  the 
present  day.  In  the  evening,  the  family  of  the  C — gs 
came.  I  know  not  why,  but  there  is  something  not  altoge- 
ther pleasant  about  them,  though  their  talents  command  a 
sort  of  admiration,  but  too  much  is  done  for  display.    Miss 

C sings  scientifically,  still  her  voice  is  not  a  voce  di petto, 

not  a  delicious  breathing  of  sentiment,  which  goes  to  the 
soul — it  is  studied — made  out — acquired — not,  in  short, 
the  Canto  che  nel  anima  si  senle.  I  think  the  young  man 
is  better,  though  prim  and  pragmatical;  but  his  verses  on 
the  dying  Gladiator  are  full  of  spirit,  and  seem  the  dictates 
of  a  natural  gift.* 

I  am  half  inclined  to  like  Mr.  Brougham,  yet  I  feel 
afraid  of  him — a  mind  that  accustoms  itself  always  to  look 
at  every  thing  in  a  ludicrous  point  of  view — every  thing 
especially,  that  has  to  do  with  feelingt — cannot  have 
one  chord  in  unison  with  mine. 

Mr.  Ward  I  positively  dislike — in  the  ignoble  necessity 
of  eating  and  drinking,  as  the  Princess  observed,  he  renders 
himself  an  unpleasant  companion  at  table — then  his  per- 
son looks  so  dirty,  and  he  has  such  a  sneer  in  his  laugh, 
and  is  so  impious  as  well  as  grossly  indecent  in  his  con- 
versation, that  1  cannot  like  this  clever  man.  The  night 
dragged  on  heavily,  but  as  the  Princess  was  not  well,  she 
soon  dismissed  her  company. 

Tuesday. — The  Princess  went  to  see  a  ship  launched, 
the  Queen  Charlotte.  We  were  too  late  for  the  actual 
ceremony,  but  what  we  did  see  was  one  of  the  finest  sights 
as  a  moving  picture  that  I  ever  beheld.  Innumerable  ves- 
sels gliding  about,  or  rather  driving  one  against  another, 
filled  with  people  gaily  dressed — all  appearing  pleased  with 

*  These  persons  have  been  the  victims  of  such  shafts  of  fortune, 
that  there  is  something'  painful  in  seeing-  their  names  thus  harshly 
dealt  with. — Ed. 

•j-  Mr.  Brougham — now  Lord  Brougham.  If  such  was  his  habitual 
frame  of  mind  with  regard  to  others,  how  many  persons  since  have 
viewed  him  in  a  similar  light ; — what  public  character  lias  ever  af- 
forded more  scope  for  satire,  not  only  with  but  at  him?  And  yet  he 
is   an  extraordinarily  clever  man — even  his  enemies  do  not  deny  it. 

The  late  Lord  A said  he  was  the  cleverest  man  of  his  time,  only 

he  wondered  what  could  make  a  person  of  his  great  abilities  choose 
his  line  in  politics. — Ed. 


TIMES  OE  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  29 

the  show;  but  how  false  the  appearance  was  in  many  in- 
stances, I  myself  can  testify.  Nevertheless,  the  pageant 
had  a  temporary  effect  in  drawing  off  attention  from  indi- 
vidual sorrows. 

The  Princess  went  on  board  the  Commissioner's  yacht, 
where  luncheon  was  prepared  for  her  Royal  Highness  and 
her   party,   which  consisted  of  Lord  Aberdeen,  Lord   H. 

F d,  myself,  and  her  ladies.     Lord  Aberdeen  is  said  to 

be  very  wise,  Lut  he  does  not  condescend  to  display  his 
stores. 

After  spending  two  or  three  hours  on  board  the  yacht, 
the  Princess  said  she'  must  take  us  to  see  Charlton,  where 
she  had  passed  the  happiest  moments  of  her  life,  and  the 
tears  rolled  down  her  face  as  she  spoke; — those  tears  were 
genuine.  We  walked  accordingly  to  Charlton;  it  is  a  very 
fine  situation,  only  looking  aver  the  low  county  of  Essex.. 
gives  one  idea  of  marshy  land,  which  makes  one  suspect 
it  must  be  unhealthy. 

"When  we  returned  to  dinner  at  Blackheath,  we  found 

Lady  0 d,  Mr.Gell,  Lord  A.  H n,  and  Lady 

Jane  Harley,*  Sir  H.  Englefield,  Miss  Berry,  Lord  R 

Lady  G d ;  the  latter  is  a  most  curious-looking  woman, 

but  I  think  she  has  sense  and  originality.  I  like  Mr.  Gell 
more  and  more  every  time  I  see  him.  He  is  so  good-hu- 
moured, so  unobtrusive,  so  ready  to  oblige,  that  with  his 
talents  and  temper  one  overlooks  a  slight  degree  of  vul- 
garity in  his  manners.     Lord  R is  less  informed, 

less  amiable;  but  in  him  there  is  a  native  elegance,  and  his 
voice  in  singing  is  most  melodious:  what  a  charm  there  is 
in  perfect  high  breeding !f 

To-day,  Mr.  P ,  an   old   friend,  came  to  see  me, 

and  painfully  awoke  feelings  that  had  long  lain  dormant. 
How  seldom  after  an  absence  do  we  meet  with  any  person 
whose  heart  makes  response  to  our  own — either  they  are 
colder,  or  their  manners,  at  least,  are  different  from  what 
they  were  when  we  parted  with  them,  which  makes  them 
appear  changed  to  us,  whether  they  are  so  in  reality  or  not. 
I  thought  nine  years  had  sadly  altered  him,  and  obliterated 
all  remembrance  of  the  past, — but  nine  years  effaces  many 
things;  it  is  the  melancholy  fate  of  every  one  who  lives 
any  time  in  the  world  to  prove  this  truth.     After  he  was 

*.Now  Lady  Langdale. 

f  High  breeding- — the  term  is  nearly  obsolete,  it  requires  a  long- 
and  learned  note, — and  then  would  not  be  understood. — Ed. 


30  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

gone,  I  accompanied  her  Royal  Highness,  together  with 
Mr.  Craven,  Mr.  Mercer,  and  Mr.  Gell,  and  the  Princess's 
ladies,  to  the  British  Museum.  "  Now,"  said  the  Princess, 
as  she  was  getting  into  her  carriage,  "  toss  up  a  guinea,  to 
know  winch  shall  be  the  happy  two  who  are  to  come  with 
me;"  but  we  had  not  a  guinea  amongst  us,  and  we  resigned 
the  honour  to  Mr.  Mercer  and  Mr.  Craven.  I  cared  not 
for  it,  but  Mr.  Cell,  I  saw.  had  rather  hav  been  one  of  them, 
for  he  blushed.  Away  we  went,  I  was  in  crested  in  walk- 
ing through  the  magnificent  library,  and  i  .  looking  at  the 
statues — yet  whenever  I  view  these  collections  my  mind 
is  depressed.  1  devoured  with  gre'e  ly  eyes  the  outside  of 
the  volumes,  and  wished — oh!  how  vainly — that  their  con- 
tents were  stored  in  my  brain.  The  wnole  life  of  a  learned 
and  laborious  man  would  not  suffice  for  that;  what  chance 
have  I  then,  in  the  middle  of  my  days,  of  accomplishing 
such  a  wish? — Then  those,  beautiful  statues,  which,  even 
in  their  mutilated  state,  testify  the  glorious  conceptions  of 
the  minds  that  formed  them!  Yes,  they  breathe  the 
spirit  of  departed  genius,  and  will  continue  to  do  so,  to 
ages  yet  unborn;  but  I — I — shall  leave  nothing  to  excite 
one  emulative  sigh  when  I  am  gone!  I  shall  die,  and  no- 
thing will  tell  of  my  existence!  But  happier  far  are  those 
who  have  never  indulged  a  wish  for  fame;  if  a  few  who 
have  loved  us  in  life  mourn  us  when  dead,  that  is  the  only 
tribute  to  our  memories  which  is,  in  fact,  worth  seeking 
for.  Down,  then,  proud  thought,  of  living  in  after  ages — 
be  that  which  you  are  destined  to  be — fulfil  the  course 
which  is  pointed  out  by  Providence,  and  be  content.  I 
have  often  wondered  whether  to  a  youthful  mind  it  were 
an  advantage  or  otherwise,  to  be  led  to  view  the  highest 
works  of  art  or  literature  at  once,  without  previous  pre- 
paration. If  persons  have  great  sensibility,  I  think  it 
might  rather  be  a  discouragement — like  the  eye  from 
which  a  cataract  has  been  removed,  and  which  cannot  en- 
dure the  broad  beam  of  day,  so  a  very  young  and  tender 
mind  should  be  gradually  led  on  as  its  own  powers  de- 
velope  themselves,  to  the  contemplation  of  the  most  sub- 
lime objects,  not  as  it  were  made  blind  with  light. 

I  was  informed  that  two  of  Lord  II F d's  chil- 
dren were  dying.     The  Princess  went  to  see  him, — poor 

Lord  H F was  in  a  state  of  despair,  such  as  the 

fondest  father  can  only  feel.  I  like  him,  he  is  very  amia- 
ble; but  I  regretted  that  her  Royal  Highness  should  have 
exposed  herself  and  him  by  forcing  her  presence  upon  him 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  31 

at  such  a  time — the  world  failed  not  to  lay  hold  of  the  cir- 
cumstance and  turned  it  to  her  disadvantage. 

The  next  day,  the  Princess  commanded  me  to  accompany 

her  to  Lord  A 's,  at  the  Priory.     1  had  not  been  at  that 

place  for  many  years.  What  a  change  those  years  had 
wrought  in  that  family;  all  the  younger  branches  were 
grown  up,  some  of  them  become  mothers — and  there  was 

another  Lady  A n!     The  present  one  is  reckoned 

agreeable  and  clever,  but  how  unlike  her  predecessor  in 
beauty  and  charm!  Lord  A n  alone  appeared  un- 
changed, though  all  was  changed  around  him;  he  sang, 
stalked  about  the  roflm,  and  in  short  was  tovjours  lid.  He 
never  will  allow,  I  am  told,  any  person  to  mention  the  chil- 
dren he  has  had  the  misfortune  to  lose.  Alas!  poor  man, 
he  does  not  foresee  that  soon  another  will  drop  into  the 
grave.     This  wilful  blindness  to  Godrs  will  is  very  awful. 

Lady  M *  alone,  of  all  the  family,  seems  blooming 

and'healthy.  I  hope  she  at  least  will  live.  Altogether 
this  visit  was  not  very  pleasing  to  me,  i  felt  too  much  like 
St.  Leon.  The  trees"  even  had  grown  out  of  all  proportion 
to  my  remembrance  of  them;  but  that  remembrance  was 
perfectly  clear,  and  distinct,  it  had  been  stamped  into  my 
very  being,  and  only  gave  a  more  strange  effect  to  my  pre- 
sent sensations,  contrasted  as  they  were  with  the  actual 
scene. 

July  27. — Slept  restlessly  and  ill.  The  past  and  the 
present  floated  in  a  turbid  stream  of  thought,  and  the  cur- 
rent glided  so  rapidly  along,  that  I  could  not  distinguish 
the  objects  it  bore  upon  its  surface.  My  impression  was 
that  of  standing  in  the  midst  of  a  chafing,  boiling  current, 
against  which  I  was  vainly  endeavouring  to  stand  upright. 
The  effect  of  this  sort  of  waking  dream  was  intensely  pain- 
ful.    'Tis  such  nights  that  unfit  us  for  the  days  which  are 

to  follow.     Mr.  T again  visited  me — but  I  sought  in 

vain  for  those  traces  of  feeling,  or  any  reference  to  the  past, 
which  I  fancied  he  would  evince — 1  did  not  meet  with  one. 
Paid  a  dull  visit — what  a  pity  it  is  when  truth  is  not  ac- 
companied by  any  charms.  Miss  Smith,  I  think  it  is,  who 
has  said,  that  to  "be  dull   and  disagreeable  is  high  treason 

against  virtue.  To-day,  saw  Mrs.  L looking  like  a  rose, 

ami  her  husband  like'  a  sensitive  plant  sitting  near  her — 

*  How  soon  the  blight  fell  upon  her  also!  What  a  rapid  decay  in 
a  family !     A  9ad,  but  salutary  lesson! 


32  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

from  the  Basse  Cour  to  the  garden  was  a  delicious  change. 

There  is  something  very  interesting  in  Mr.  L ,  but  I 

believe  it  is  because  he  takes  no  interest  in  any  tiling — not 
that  lie  is  devoid  of  affection  for  his  wife  and  children,  but 
the  finer  particles  of  his  nature,  those  evanescent  emana- 
tions of  spirit  which  are  only  cognizable  to  the  very  few, 
and  which  thrive  not,  unless  under  the  influence  of  conge- 
nial feelings,  are  dried  up  and  withered  within  himself;  and 
I  should  think  can  hardly  be  called  to  life  again  by  any 
living  object — perhaps  the  very  woman  whom  he  first  truly 
loved  could  no  longer  exercise  that  power  over  him  which  she 
once  possessed,  even  were  there  no  barriers  to  their  reunion 
— the  fair  illusion  which  presented  her  all  perfect  to  his 
fancy  existed  only,  it  may  be,  in  his  imagination: — when 
time  withdrew  that  heavenly  veil  in  which  he  had  clothed 
her,  here  ended  the  romance,  but  not  the  longing  alter  that 
which  he  was  destined  never  to  find.  It  is  to  be  lamented 
that  no  wholesome  resolve  has  sprung  up  in  its  place  to  re- 
cover the  waste  of  life,  the  listless  hours — the  effeminacy 
— which  too  often  succeeds  to  excitement;  there  are  always 
honourable  pursuits  open  to  an  aspiring  mind,  and  there 
are  realities  in  life  which  are  worthy  of  the  most  noble  and 
generous  natures. 


SECTION  II. 


February  10th,  1811. — Of  the  many  tiroes  in  which  I 
have  commenced  writing  a  journal,  some  reason  or  other 
has  prevented  its  continuance,  or  at  least  thrown  upon  it 
that  check,  which  diminishes  the  pleasure  of  writing,  and 
renders  the  matter  less  interesting.  If  nobody  is  ever  to 
read  what  one  writes,  there  is  no  satisfaction  in  writing: 
and  if  any  body  does  see  it,  mischief  ensues.  So  I  will  not 
write  a  journal,  but  brief  notes  of  such  things  as  I  conceive 
may  be  amusing,  without  incurring  danger  to  myself  or 
others. 

I  am  sorry  to  observe  that  the  poor  Princess  is  losing 
ground  every  day  in  the  opinion  of  the  public.  There  is 
a  strong  and  a  bitter  party  against  her;  and  she  is  always 
irritating  some  one  or  other  of  these  persons,  and  drawing 
down  upon  herself  an  excuse  for  their  malevolence  by  her 
imprudence, — it  is  to  be  lamented  that  she  has  no  mental 
pursuits;  that  is  the  only  safeguard  against  a  love  of  in- 


TIMES    OF    GEOKGE    THE  FOURTH.  06 

trigue.  People  must  do  something  to  amuse  themselves, 
and  when  they  are  not  employed  in  any  work  worthy  of 
the  dignify  of"  human  nature,  they  will  do  mischief  out  of 
mere  idleness. 

The  Princess  often  read  aloud.  It  was  difficult  to  un- 
derstand her  Germanised  French,  and  still  more,  her  com- 
posite English.  She  was  particularly  amused  at  the  Mar- 
gravine de  Bareith's  Memoirs;  this  lady  was  sister  of  Fre- 
derick the  Great— Devil.  In  truth  they  were  amusing,  as 
all  memoirs  aie  that  merely  relate  facts.  Her  Royal  High- 
ness told  me  that  if  she  were  to  die,  her  papers  would  be 
all  examined;  for  which  reason  she  had  burned  a  great 
many,  and  that  the  fest— particularly  the  letters  she  had 
received  from  the  Prince,  either  from  himself  or  written  by 
his  orders,  previous  to  her  having  left  Carlton  House— were 
in  safe  custody. 

To-day,  I  had  a  letter  from  the  most  entertaining  of  all 
correspondents.  Lord  Orford's  is  a  joke  to  this  epistolary 
phenomenon. 

Christ  Church,  Oxford,  15th  March,  1811. 

Dear  Lord  ■ , 

It  vexes  me  extremely  to  think  that  I  must  have  appear- 
ed so  ungrateful  to  your  Lordship  (provided  that  you  did. 
me  the  honour  to  remember  that  there  was  such  a  person 
in  existence)  by  not  sooner  performing  my  promise  respect- 
ing the  drawing  which  you  were  so  good  as  to  desire,  and 

my  gleanings  which  regard  the  family  of  ;  but  the 

truth  is,  that  what  with  bad  eyes,  indifferent  health,  and  a 
perpetual  motion  from  one  set  of  lodgings  to  another,  I  have 
scarcely  been  able  to  wield  a  pen,  or  open  a  book  since  I 
left  London.  Even  now,  my  eyes  feel  as  those  of  Juno's 
cow-boy  must  have  done,  when  fixed  upon  her  peacock's 
tail;  and  my  eyelids  resemble  in  comfort  a  couple  of  hedge- 
hog skins  inverted.  Your  Lordship  must  have  seen  a  pair 
of  dice  in  red  leather  dice-boxes — my  optics  exhibit  exact- 
ly such  a  spectacle:  then  my  head  aches  as  if  I  were  with 
child  of  Minerva  every  other  day,  though,  alas!  there  is  but 
little  of  the  goddess  in  that  quarter.  When  I  last  arrived 
in  Oxford,  I  found  that,  my  rooms  had  been  demolished  in 
my  absence,  and  discovered  ail  my  articles  of  furniture 
and  study  in  the  most  chaotic  confusion:  so  1  looked  out 
for  a  new  abode,  carrying  with  much  pain  and  labour,  my 
debris  about  witli  me."  lint  here,  the  sitting-room  was  too 
small,  there,  too  large;  in  this  place  the  chimney  smoked, 


54  MEMOIRS    OF   THE 

in  that,  the  house-maid  was  slovenly,  and  the  cat  in  love. 
I  could  settle  with  comfort  no  where.  My  luggage,  how- 
ever, like  VEsop's  basket,  became  lighter  by  degrees,  as  I 
left  half-a-doz.cn  things  behind  me  at  every  lodging  which 
I  relinquished,  and  I  never  could  hear  tidings  of  them  after. 
Tn  fine,  I  am  at  last  fixed — laid  by  for  a  while,  like  a  poor 
slipper  that  hath  been  hunted  through  many  unseemly 
places.  1  now  send  you  the  first  fruits  of  my  repose — a 
representation  of  Titania,  with  that  little  boy  in  her  arms, 
concerning  whom  she  hath  a  feud  with  her  spouse  in  The 
Midsummer  Night's  Dream.  It  is  a  wretched  performance, 
but  the  best  that  my  slender  capacity  can  furnish;  there- 
fore I  beseech  you  to  cast  an  eye  of  compassion  on  its  beast- 
liness. 

*  %£  ^  ijt      *  ;'tc  ^ 

Talking  of  books,  we  have  lately  had  a  literary  Sun  shine 
forth  upon  us  here,  before  whom  our  former  luminaries 
must  hide  their  diminished  heads — a  Mr.  Shelley,  of  Uni- 
versity College,  who  lives  upon  arsenic,  aqua-fortis,  half- 
an-hour's  sleep  in  the  night,  and  is  desperately  in  love  with 
the  memory  of  Margaret  Nicholson.  He  hath  published 
what  he  terms  the  Posthumous  Poems,  printed  for  the  be- 
nefit of  Mr.  Peter  Finnerty,  which  I  am  grieved  to  say, 
though  stuffed  full  of  treason,  is  extremely  dull,  but  the 
Author  is  a  great  genius,  and  if  he  be  not  clapped  up  in 
Bedlam  or  hanged,  will  certainly  prove  one  of  the  sweetest 
swans  on  the  tuneful  margin  of  the  Charwell.  Our  Col- 
lege of  Christ  Church  is  so  full  of  noblemen  at  present,  that 
one's  eyes  require  green  spectacles  to  preserve  them  from 
the  glare  of  the  golden  tufts  among  these  peers.  The  Dukes 
of  Leinster  and  Dorset  are  pre-eminent,  are  both  very  good 
men,  though  the  one  will  never  head  an  Irish  rebellion,  nor 
the  other  write  a  poem  quite  so  pretty  as  "  To  all  you 
ladies  now  on  land."  The  Irish  Duke  is  much  cried 
up  for  his  beauty,  but  he.  does  not  strike  me  as  being  re- 
markably handsome,  because  his  nose  is  fashioned  like  a 
monkey,  and  he  hath  got  what  in  Ireland  is  called  "  clober 
heels."  As  to  Dorset,  he  is  exactly  like  a  sick  Canary  bird 
in  a  hard  frost;  all  the  milliners  in  the  place  admire  Lord 
Herbert,  while  the  wives  of  the  Dean  and  Canons  affect  to 
admire  Lord  Apsley.he  is  so  monstrous  genteel  and  sickly. 
— Shelley's  style  is  much  like  that  of  Moore  burlesqued, 
for  Frank  is  a  very  foul-mouthed  fellow,  and  Charlotte, 
one  of  the  most  impudent  brides  that  I  ever  met  with  in  a 
book.     Our  Apollo  next  came  out  with  a  prose  pamphlet 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  35 

in  praise  of  atheism,  which  I  have  not  as  yet  seen,  and  there 
appeared  a  monstrous  romance  in  one  volume,  called  St. 
Ircoyne,  or  the  Rosicrucian. — Here  is  another  pearl  of 
price!  all  the  heroes  are  confirmed  robbers  and  causeless 
murderers,  while  the  heroines  glide  en  chemise  through  the 
streets  of  Geneva,  tap  at  the  palazzo  doors  of  their  sweet- 
hearts, and  on  being  denied  admittance  leave  no  cards,  but 
run  home  to  their  warm  beds,  and  kill  themselves.  If 
your  lordship  would  like  to  see  this  treasure  I  will  send  it. 
Shelley's  last  exhibition  is  a  Poem  on  the  State  of  Public 
Affairs.  I  fear,  my  dear  Lord,  you  will  be  quite  disgusted 
with  all  this  stuff,  so  I  shall  discreetly  make  an  end,  re- 
questing you  to  believe  me  your  lordship's  faithful  servant, 

C.R. 

1811. — The  tide  of  time  bears  in  its  flux  and  reflux 
many  things  away,  and  brings  in  others  to  supply  their 
place.  Thus,  as  we  glide  down  the  current,  this  life  some- 
times resembles  a  bleak  and  dreary  shore,  at  others,  the 
beautiful  margin  of  some  bounded  sea,  fringed  with  wood, 
and  clothed  with  luxurious  vegetation — but  still  'tis  but  a 
shore  whose  varying  aspect,  as  we  drift  along,  reminds  us, 
that  it  is  no  fixed  abode.  But  there  is  a  land  of  promise 
beyond  the  horizon  of  time,  where  time  itself  will  be  as 
though  it  ne'er  had  been.  As  years  fly  swiftly  away  never 
to  be  recalled,  it  is  impossible  but  that  at  the  return  of  the 
epoch  which  marks  their  flight,  every  thinking  being  should 
not  pause,  and  reflect:  and  standing  as  it  were  upon  the 
isthmus  which  separates  the  past  from  the  future — trace 
out  the  path  they  have  trod,  and  with  inquiring-glance  look 
on  to  that  which  t^ey  are  vet  to  tread.  Regret,  disappoint- 
ment, misfortune,  error — strew  the  track  of  most  earthly 
pilgrimages — happy  are  those  whose  thorns  and  briers  have 
not  been  sell -planted,  and  who  can,  amongst  their  griefs 
and  sorrows,  retain  in  memory's  store  the  faithful  linea- 
ments of  some  pure  happiness.  To  dwell  long  upon  the 
irrevocable  past,  is  vain — repentance  should  be  deep  and 
sincere — by  its  fruits  the  tree  is  known — so  should  its  truth 
be  proved,  but  to  sink  beneath  the  Overwhelming  nature  of 
a  gloomy  self-reproach,  to  heap  difficulties  in  our  onward 
road,  is  to  mar  its  best  uses. 

I  draw  the  veil  of  private  life  upon  one  year;  I  have  lit- 
tle to  dwell  upon  during  its  progress  that  does  not  bring 
pain  along  with  il.  Since  the  month  of  June  last,  my  days 
nave  passed  in  one  uniform  tenor,  but  not  thus  has  my  mind 


bb  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

rested  in  abeyance.  No!  it  has  pondered  deeply,  and  I 
find  the  result  of  these  meditations  to  be,  that  religion  and 
a  future  life  are  all  that  is  really  worth  thinking  about. 
The  heart  that  acknowledges  within  it  a  hopeless  vacuum 
— which  has  been  disappointed  in  all  its  expectations,  has 
burnt  out  its  affections  to  the  very  ashes,  and  from  nourish- 
ing every  feeling  to  excess  is  forced  to  subside  in  the  fixed 
calmness  of  indifference,  and  be  content  with  common  life, 
— must  surely  perish  from  inanition,  if  it  aspires  not  to  the 
life  to  come — "  heureusement,  quand  les  mysteres  de  ce 
monde  jinissent,  cextx  de  la  mort  commencent"  I  hence- 
forth determine  to  live  mentally  to  myself.  My  outward 
life  will  probably  be  a  busy  one;  the  worldly  characters  and 
worldly  vices,  and  strange  stories  that  1  may  hear  shall  be 
set  down  on  paper  without  many  remarks  of  my  own,  for 
which  I  may  neither  have  time  nor  inclination.  La  vie 
interleave  is  another  thing. 

Saturday,  the  4th  of ,  181  l.-rSaw  Sir  Walter  Far- 
quhar.* He  had  been  dining  with  the  Regent,  as  he  had 
been  obliged  to  do  for  a  week  past.  He  would  not  say  all 
he  could  have  said,  but  from  what  I  gathered,  it  is  evident 
he  thinks  as  all  those  must  think  who  have  access  to  know 
the  truth;  namely,  that  a  long  course  of  indulgence  lias 
at  last  undermined  his  Royal  Highness's  constitution, 
both  mentally  and  physically  speaking.  It  is  given  out 
that  the  Regent  has  got  spasms  in  his  arms,  owing  to  his 
having  leaned  on  his  elbows  at  the  time  he  sprained  his  arm, 
to  save  himself  from  pressing  on  his  ancle!  What  egre- 
gious nonsense!  But  the  same  sort  of  stuff  has  been  al- 
ways said  concerning  Princes,  whenever  they  were  to  be 
sick  or  well  to  suit  public  or  private  concerns.  Unfortu- 
nately for  myself,  I  have  bought  experience  at  too  dear  a 
rate,  not  to  know,  by  seeing  the  Regent,  what  is  his  malady, 
and  what  is  the  cause; — a  course  of  excessive  and  habitual 
drinking  is  invariably  followed  by  debility,  and  will  end  in 
bringing  most  persons  to  a  premature  grave.  The  Minis- 
ters now  in  power  are  in  fact  the  Regent.  The  Regent 
dares  not  say  nay,  even  when  he  secretly  disagrees  with 
them,  and  all  the  sense  he  has  left  is,  to  know  that  if  the 

*  Sir  Walter  Farquhar,  a  man  whose  memory  is  scarcely  done  jus- 
tice to,  though  he  was  sought  after,  trusted,  and  courted  in  life.  If 
ever  there  was  an  Israelite  without  guile — one  who  had  the  wisdom 
of  the  serpent  and  the  harmlessness  of  the  dove — that  man  was  Sir 
Walter  Farquhar. 


TIMES   OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  bT 

limitation  placed  by  them  were  taken  off,  he  would  be  ut- 
terly overwhelmed  by  the  host  of  persons  to  whom  he  has 
made  promises,  that  he  neither  can  nor  will  fulfil; — for  this 
reason,  whenever  the  Regent  has  been  called  upon  to  come 
forward  and  act,  the  public  papers  have  always  made  the 
unfortunate  Monarch  better,  in  order  that  there  might  be  a 
plausible  pretext  in  bringing  forward  filial  duty,  as  virtuous 
forbearance  and  making  excuses  for  deferring  that  which  he 
himself  dreads; — namely,  the  possession  of  the  power  to 
fulfil  promises  he  has  no  longer  the  inclination  to  keep.  I 
think  the  party  who  have  looked  up  so  long  to  him  cannot 
continue  to  be  thus  gulled  without  showing  their  teeth; — in 
fact,  the  throne  totters,  and  the  country,  which  has  hitherto 
supported  it,  is  not  steady.  In  the  language  of  Scripture, 
it  *'  reels  to  and  fro  and  staggers  like  a  drunken  man."* 

To-day,  I  was  again  one  of  the  guests  at  Kensington. 
The  Princess  Charlotte  was  there.  She  is  grown  exces- 
sively, and  has  all  the  fulness  of  a  person  of  five-and-twen- 
ty.  She  is  neither  graceful  nor  elegant,  yet  she  has  a  pe- 
culiar air  et  tous  les  prestiges  de  la  royaute  et  du  pouvoir. 
In  spite  of  the  higher  powers  of  reason  and  of  justice,  these 
always  cast  a  dazzling  lustre,  through  which  it  is  difficult 
to  see  the  individuals  as  they  really  are.  The  Princess 
Charlotte  is  above  the  middle  height,  extremely  spread  for 
her  age;  her  bosom  full,  but  finely  shaped;  her  shoulders 
large,  and  her  whole  person  voluptuous;  but  of  a  nature  to 
become  soon  spoiled,  and  without  much  care  and  exercise 
she  will  shortly  lose  all  beauty  in  fat  and  clumsiness.  Her 
skin  is  white,  but  not  a  transparent  white — little  or  no 
shade  in  her  face — but  her  features  are  very  fine.  Their 
expression,  together  with  that  of  her  general  demeanour  is 
noble.  Her  feet  are  rather  small,  and  her  hands  and  arms 
are  finely  moulded.  She  has  a  hesitation  in  her  speech, 
amounting  almost  to  a  stammer,  an  additional  proof,  if  any 
were  wanting,  of  her  being  her  father's  own  child;  but  in  eve- 
ry thing,  she  is  his  very  prototype.  Her  voice  is  flexible,  its 
tones  dulcet,  except  when  she  laughs,  then  it  becomes  too 

*  There  is  nothing  new  in  this  conduct  of  the  Regent;  all  Princes 
who  scorn  their  father's  ministers  and  measures  during  their  minority, 
generally  adopt  both,  when  they  come  to  reign.  The  likeness,  so 
often  drawn  between  the  Regent  in  his  youth  to  the  Hal  of  Shak- 
speare,  and  the  similar  change  of  conduct  with  that  Prince,  when  he 
came  to  the  throne,  and  which  is  made  an  excuse  for  every  caprice  of 
humour  and  every  change  of  system,  has  told  the  tale  long  ago  of  an 
heir  apparent  and  a  crowned  monarch. 

vol.   I.  4 


38  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

loud,  but  is  never  unmusical.  She  seems  to  wish  to  be  ad- 
mired more  as  a  lovely  woman  than  a  Queen.  Yet  she  has 
lost  quickness  both  of  fancy  and  penetration,  and  would 
fain  reign  despotically,  or  I  am  much  mistaken.  I  fear  that 
she  is  capricious,  self-willed,  and  obstinate.  I  think  she 
is  kind-hearted,  clever,  and  enthusiastic.  Her  faults  have 
evidently  never  been  checked,  nor  her  virtues  fostered. 
The  "generous  purpose"  may  have  risen  in  her  breast, 
but  it  has  never  been  fixed  there.  How  much  does  every 
day's  experience  convince  me,  that  from  the  crowned  head 
to  the  labouring  peasant,  no  fine  qualities  are  truly  valua- 
ble without  a  fixed  principle  to  bind  them  together  and 
give  them  stability. 

The  Princess  Charlotte  was  excessively  gracious  to  me; 
the  wind  blew  my  way  "  wooingly ,"  but  that  was  all. 
Never  was  a  truer  word  spoken  by  man,  than  that  Princes 
are  a  race  a  part. 

I  cannot  conceive  why  the  Princess  of  Wales  should  dis- 
like that  any  friend  of  hers  should  become  intimate  with 
her  mother's  lady,  Madame  de  Haeckle.  I  met  the  latter 
this  day,  but  found  that  this  short  visit  was  all  the  commu- 
nication I  ever  was  to  have  with  her,  if  I  desired  to  retain 
the  favour  of  Her  Royal  Highness:  I  conclude,  therefore, 

she  knows  more  than  is  wished.     Lord  L has  been 

paying  Her  Royal  Highness  great  court  lately.  I  fear 
perhaps  that  when  she  broke  with  her  former  counsellor  she 
made  a  confidant  of  this  man,  and  so  she  has  fallen  into 
his  power,  and  he  is  making  a  tool  of  her.  I  see  by  the 
great  fuss  she  has  made,  and  the  curiosity  she  has  evinced 

about  the  Duke  of  D- ,  that    Lord    L has  been 

schooling  Her  Royal   Highness  respecting  his  Grace,  but 

what  a  weak  man  Lord  L was  to  suppose  that  he  will 

ever  marry  his -daughter  to  the  Duke  through  her  means. 
The  Princess  naturally  wishes  it:  first,  for  the  amusement 
of  having  something  to  occupy  her;  and  secondly,  thinking, 
I  suppose,  to  gain  in  her  turn,  through  Lord  L 's  in- 
terest, a   powerful  friend  and  supporter  in  the  Duke  of 

D ,  should  he  become  the  Prince's  son-in-law.     How 

little  do  all  these  people  know  of  the  matter  they  are  fight- 
ing about.  I  know  not  much,  but  I  think  better  of  him  than 
to  suppose  he  would  be  the  tool  of  such  machinations.  The 
more  I  see  of  courts  and  of  the  world,  the  more  I  wish  to 
escape  their  polluting  influence.  The  spirit  of  intrigue 
which  reigns  around,  the  petty  passions  and  debasing  con- 
trivances which  take  place  in  them,  are  apt  to  deaden  the 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  39 

finer  qualities  both  of  heart  and  head.  The  danger  is,  lest 
they  should  become  wholly  crushed  and  withered. 

Her  Royal  Highness  talked  a  great  deal  of  the  D sasa 

family  knowing  nothing  at  all  about  them.     She  abused  and 

denigred  the  ladies,  and  repeated  all  that  Mr.  G had 

once  told  her  of  their  being  false  friends.  This  gossip  she  re- 
lated in  her  favourite  way,  saying — A  person  once  told  her, 
that  another  person,  a  gentleman,  a  friend  of  both  parties,  told 
him,  that  one  of  the  ladies  had  spoken  very  ill  of  a  lady  she 
pretends  to  like.  If  this  is  true,  it  is  a  pity,  and  I  have  other 
reasons  for  thinking  there  may  be  some  truth  in  the  story; 
but  who  can  aver  that  they  have  not  themselves  been  oc- 
casionally guilty  of  saying  unkind  or  pettish  things  of  a 
friend?  If  every  thing  was  repeated,  what  would  become 
of  society?  Le  palais  delaverile  would  beahell  upon  earth. 
The  Princess  farther  went  on  to  say,  that  she  had  been 
credibly  informed,  "  I  tell  you  God's  truth,"  (her  favour- 
ite  expression)  when   the  second  Duchess  of  D.  was  at 

C k,  she  spent  about  twelve  hundred  pounds  in  five 

weeks,  and  on  the  Duke's  man  of  business  representing 
that  measures  should  be  taken  to  regulate  the  household, 
the  Duchess  took  offence  and  immediately  went  away — 
that  was  the  only  way  of  settling  tHe  business;  but  what 
is  very  odd,  continued  the  Princess,  is,  that  in  arranging 
her  future  furniture,  &c,  the  family  diamonds  were  not 

appointed  to  any  one.     Sir  S R gave   it  as  his 

opinion,  that  they,  in  consequence,  became  the  Duchess's, 
being  considered  as  a  part  of  her  paraphernalia:  but  the 
comical  part  of  all  the  story  is,  that  she  wrote  a  letter  to 

the  D ,  saying,  for  his  sake,  his  sister's  and  all  their  sakes, 

she  should  take  the  diamonds,  hut  that  if  he  ever  married, 
her  Grace  would  return  them  to  his  wife;  vat  did  she  mean? 
— tell  me  dat  riddle. — Every  body  laughed  at  the  Princess's 
amusing  way  of  telling  a  story. 

Mrs.  A and  Mr.  Davy  dined  with  Her  Royal  High- 
ness. I  also  was  of  the  party.  I  had  never  yet  become  ac- 
quainted with  this  celebrated  man,  so  I  took  his  superior 
abilities  upon  trust.      His  superior  ugliness    I    know  by 

ocular  demonstration. — Mrs.  A seems  tinctured  with 

something  like  love.  I  wonder  if  he  will  analyze  the 
sentiment.*      In   the  evening,  the  Princess  went  to   the 

*  Afterwards  Sir  Humphry  Davy,  and  who  married  Mrs.  A . 

He  was  a  very  delightful  man,  and  she  a  still  more  delightful  woman; 
but  neither  of  them  the  least  suited  to  each  other. 


40  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

Duchess  of  Brunswick's.  I  am  not  permitted  to  talk 
to  Madame  de  Haeckle,  or  I  should  be  very  much  amused. 
But  no, — that  is  forbidden  ground;  and  whenever  we  at- 
tempt conversation,  the  Royalties  interfere,  and  there  is  an 
end  of  it.  If  ever  I  might  converse  with  the  old  Duchess 
of  Brunswick  freely,  there  is  such  a  pleasure  in  pleasing, 
and  it  is  so  easy  to  please  an  old  person,  that  from  that 
source  also  I  could  derive  interest.  But  I  must  not.  Oh! 
it  is  a  hard  thing  to  be  placed  amongst  many  women,  (the 
devil  among  the  tailors  is  a  joke  to  it,)  and  bound  to  be 
civil  and  make  the  agreeable  to  all 5  but  there  is  a  hard- 
ness of  manner  in  the  Princess  towards  her  mother,  unlike 
her  general  demeanour  to  others,  which  sometimes  re- 
volts me. 

Her  Royal  Highness  once  read  through  the  whole  of 
Candide  to  one  of  her  ladies,  who  told  me  her  opifiion  of  it, 
which  does  her  honour.  She  said, — "its  character  as  a 
work  of  extreme  cleverness  has  been  so  long  established, 
that  to  venture  in  the  least  to  detract  from  it,  is  to  en- 
counter the  ridicule  of  a  multitude.  I  must  say,  however, 
that  the  persiflage  which  reigns  throughout,  and  in  which 
its  whole  essence  consists,  is  not  consonant  to  my  taste  or 
understanding.  Vicious  subjects  ought  not  to  be  treated 
lightly;  they  merit  tfte  coarsest  clothing,  and  ought  to  be 
arrayed  in  language  which  would  create  abhorrence  and 
disgust.  But  the  whole  work  seems  designed  to  turn  vice 
into  virtue.  Either  it  has  no  aim-  or  end,  or  it  has  one 
which  should  be  loathed.  It  must  be  confessed,  however, 
that  the  tripping  levity  of  its  self-assurance,  and  the  sar- 
castic drollery  of  its  phrase,  excite  laughter;  but  it  is  a 
poor  prerogative  after  all,  to  be  the  mental  buffoon  of 
ages." 

Though  I,  perhaps,  have  more  indulgence  for  Voltaire,  in 
consideration  of  his  vast  talents,  than  my  fair  friend,  yet  I 
admired  the  woman  who  thought  and  spoke  thus;  and  her 
Royal  Highness  is  fortunate  in  having  such  a  friend.  But 
I  fear  princes  and  princesses  do  not  suffer  those  who  are  in- 
clined to  be  their  true  friends  to  be  so  long. 

To-day  I  was  admitted  to  the  Duchess  of  Brunswick,  to 
pay  my  respects  in  a  morning  visit,  and  had  a  tete-a-tete 
interview.  I  found  her  sitting,  as  usual,  in  the  middle 
of  her  empty  dull  room.  It  is  wonderful  how  little 
power  locale  has  over  some  persons,  and  how  much  it  affects 
others.  She  made  my  heart  ache  for  her,  poor  old  soul, 
when   she   said,  "  I  have  nothing   to  love;  no  one  loves 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  41 

meJ, — Alas! — what  a  picture  of  human  wretchedness  did 
that  short  sentence  comprise.  1  have  had  too  much  rea- 
son to  know  since,  that  she  spoke  the  truth.  The  heart 
that  thus  seeks  in  vain  for  some  reciprocal  affection,  must 
either  break  or  become  callous.  1  know  not  which  is  the 
preferable  alternative. 

About  this  time,  her  Royal  Highness  the  Princess  of 
Wales  was  intioduced,  by  a  very  injudicious  friend  of  hers, 
to  a  set  of  low  persons,  totally  unfitting  her  private  so- 
ciety:— viz.  three  singers,  the  father,  mother,  and  son; 
and  also  a  number  of  people  belonging  to  a  school,  whom 
her  Royal  Highness  allowed  and  encouraged  to  treat  her 
very  disrespectfully.  This  at  first  originated  in  her  love 
of  ease  and  indolence,  which  is  indulged  by  living  with  per- 
sons of  inferior  rank;  but  in  after-times  I  much  fear  there 
were  other  reasons  for  submitting  to  such  an  unworthy  set 
of  people. 

The  Princess  sent  for  me  to  execute  a  commission,  of 
selling  two  enormous  unset  diamonds.  I  did  not  like  the 
office,  and  cannot  understand  what  could  induce  her  Royal 
Highness  to  part  with  them,  or  why  she  should  be  in  diffi- 
culty for  any  sum  of  money  which  she  can  reasonably 
want.  Is  she  then  drained  by  the  old  music  master,  anil 
will  her  eyes  never  be  opened  to  his  rapaciousness?  or  is 
there  a  worse  reason? 

I  went  yesterday  to  Mrs.  N ,  paid  a  long  visit,  and 

asked  to  see  her  children,  and  admired  them  by  words,  but 
cared  not  two-pence  for  them, — poor  little  ugly  things! 
What  duplicity  does  the  civilization  of  mankind  naturally 
impose!  So  I  sometimes  think,  and  turn  from  myself  and 
others  equally  disgusted;  but  as  there  must  be  dc  la  petite 
monnale — base  coin  though  it  be, — this  currency  of  dross 
is  only  received  as  it  is  given: — and  besides,  as  long  as  we 
do  no!  do  any  thing  base  or  wicked  in  .order  to  please,  it  is 
amiable  to  please  even  at  the  expense  of  sincerity. — I  took 
ih-  diamonds  with  which  I  had  been  intrusted  to  several 
jewellers;  one  man  offered  only  a  hundred  and  fifty  pounds 
for  them.  1  knew  this  was  ridiculous,  and  so  1  restored 
them  to  her  Royal  Highness: — what  became  of  them  I 
know  not,  but  this  1  do  know,  that  one  of  the  jewellers,  by 
referring  to  his  books,  declared  that  they  were  jewels  be- 
longing to  the  Crown. 

Received  an  invitation  from  her  Royal  Highness  to  go  to 
Brandenbargh  House.  When  I  arrived  I  found  her  walk- 
ing in  her  garden  with  Lord  L .  Shortly  after,  he  went 

4* 


42  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

away,  and  her  Royal  Highness  talked  over  the  present 
state  of  politics  and  royal  feuds.  She  was  low,  but  not 
subdued  in  spirit;  wounded,  but  not  malignant.  She  re- 
lated with  great  spirit  and  drollery  the  visit  of  the  Queen 
to  the  Duchess  of  Brunswick,  and  told  me  that  when  she, 
the  Princess  of  Wales,  was  at  her  mother's  the  other  day, 
the  old  lady*  said  in  her  blunt  way,  "  Madame  de  Haeckle, 
you  may  have  a  day  to  yourself  on  Wednesday  next,  for 
the  Prince  hag  invited  me  to  dine  at  Carlton  House,  and 
he  will  not  suffer  any  lady-attendants  to  go  there;  and  as 
my  son  accompanies  me,  I  shall  not  want  you."  This 
speech  astonished  all  present  save  her  daughter,  who  had 
been  apprised  by  the  Duke  of  Kent  that  such  an  invitation 
would  take  place.  It  was  so  unfeeling  to  announce  this 
with  an  air  of  triumph  to  the  Princess  of  Wales,  that  but 
for  the  poor  Duchess  being  very  weak  and  easily  gulled, 
one  must  have  conceived  her  to  be  devoid  of  all  heart.  This 
speech  was  followed  by  a  general  cessation  of  all  conver- 
sation, Madame  de  Haeckle  only  looking  dismayed.  The 
Duchess  of  Brunswick  first  broke  silence  by  turning  sud- 
denly to  her  daughter  and  saying,  "  Do  you  think  I  should 
be  carried  upstairs  on  my  cushion?"  To  which  the  Prin- 
cess, with  a  curious  presenceof  mind, replied  coolly,  "There 
is  no  upstairs,  I  believe; — the  apartments  are  all  on  one 
floor."  "  Oh,  charming,  that  is  delightful  i"  rejoined  the 
Duchess;  and  with  a  few  more  queries,  to  which  the  Prin- 
cess always  replied  with  the  greatest  self-possession  and 
sang  fioid,  as  though  she  was  not  in  the  least  hurt,  this 
strange  royal  farce  ended. 

The  Duke  of  Brunswick,  however,  came  to  the  Princess 
his  sister,  and  said,  "  This  must  not  be.     You  must  not 

suffer  her  to  think  of  going."     Accordingly,  Lady  G ■ 

was  despatched  the  next  morning  with  a  long  letter  written 
by  the  Princess  to  her  mother,  explaining  to  her  that  if  she 
went  to  Carlton  House,  her  presence  there  would  seem 
like  a  tacit  acknowledgment  that  she  was  satisfied  with 
the  Prince's  conduct  to  her  daughter;  that  he  was  in  the 
right;  that   she,  the  Princess,  merited  the  treatment  he 

gave  her.     Lady  G read  the  letter  to  the  Duchess, 

then  by  word  of  mouth  confirmed  the  contents,  and  further 
commented  thereon;  but  the  Duchess  was  immoveable  in 

*  It  is  difficult  to  understand  how  a  mother  could  like  to  affront 
her  own  child;  but  such  are  the  unnatural  discrepancies  in  the  hu- 
man character,  in  that  of  princes  particularly;  for  on  the  whole  the 
Duchess  of  B.  was  a  kind  hearted  woman. 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  43 

her  intention,  and  persisted  in  going.  "No,"  said  she, 
"  I  see  the  business  quite  in  another  point  of  view  from 
what  you  do;  I  love  my  daughter  above  all  things,  and 
would  do  any  thing  in  the  world  for  her,  but  I  must  go  to 
Carlton  House."  Lady  G continued  in  earnest  con- 
verse and  entreaty  with  her  for  two  hours,  but  nothing  ap- 
peared to  move  the  old  lady  from  her  determination;  when 
weary  and  worn,  the  ambassadress  was  about  to  depart, 
the  Duchess  cried  out — "No,  no;  tell  her  1  love  her  of  all 
things,  but  give  her  no  hopes  upon  this  subject.  The  Prin- 
cess has  a  jewel  in  you;*  you  have  done  your  embassy 
well;  but  give  her  no  hopes." 

"  Eh  bien!"  said  the  Princess,  continuing  her  narration 
of  this  curious  scene,  and  drawing  her  breath  as  she  usual- 
ly does  when  she  is  angry,  "  I  gave  the  matter  up,  and 
thought,  like  many  other  things,  it  could  not  be  helped; 
when  the  next  day  I  received  a  letter  from  my  mother, 
saying, '  Far  be  it  from  me  to  do  any  thing  contrary  to  your 
interests;  and  hearing  that  there  is  a  doubt  upon  the  sub- 
ject, I  shall  not  go  to  Carlton  House.'  This  resolve 
astonished  me  as  much  as  my  mother's  previous  determina- 
tion, and  I  immediately  wrote  to  say  how  grateful  I  was  to 
her;  in  proof  of  which  I  begged  to  dine  with  her  the  next 
day,  and  added  that  I  should  take  no  notice  of  what  had 
passed."  "  Accordingly,"  she  continued,  "nothing  was 
said  upon  the  subject,  and  there  the  business  ended;  but 
was  there  ever  such  an  idea  entered  a  mother's  head!" 
added  the  Princess.  "  It  was  so  evidently  a  trap,  that  was 
set  to  inveigle  the  poor  old  Duchess  into  a  tacit  condemna- 
tion of  me/'' 

The  one  half  of  human  life  is  generally  passed  in  giving 

oneself  wounds,  the  other  in  healing  them.     Lady  M , 

whom  I  conveyed  in  my  carriage  to  her  lone  empty  house, 
left  a  sadness  in  my  mind.  She  has  not  perhaps  one  real 
friend  among  all  the  numerous  worldly  persons,  calling 
themselves  such,  for  whom  she  has  sacrificed  her  aft'ections 
and  her  life.  Her  tastes  are  of  the  most  extravagant  kind, 
and  above  her  fortune,  and  her  mind  has  been  too  long  suf- 
fered to  waste  itself  in  desultory  pursuits  after  phantoms, 
to  be  able  to  recover  its  tone,  and  derive  from  its  own  re- 
sources that  interest,  which  the  world  can  neither  give  nor 
take  away.     Yet  I  think  her  case  peculiarly  hard.     Lady 

*  That  was  true:  a  more  delightful  or  good  person  never  existed — 
one  who  united  so  many  rare  qualities  in  one  person.  s 


44  MKMOIHS  OF  THE 

H ought  never  to  have  forsaken  her.     But  she  is  one 

of  the  many  who  have  loved  and  lived  in  vain. 

I  was  sent  for  to  Kensington:  found  her  Royal  Highness 
talking  to  Dr.  Moseley  and  Lady  A II n.    1  over- 
heard her  say   to  the  latter,  "  Now,   dear    Lady  Anne, 
take  Dr.  Moseley  and  show  him  the  apartments  above  stairs." 
I  understood  what  that  meant,  and  that  my  visit  must  be  a 
tete-a-tete.     I   trembled,  for  I   fear  it  is  in  vain  to  do  her 
any  good.     She  came  to  me:  and  having  spoken  a  lew 
phrases  on  different  subjects,  produced  all  the  papers  she 
wishes  to  have  published: — !ier  whole  correspondence  with 
the  Prince  relative  to  Lady  J- 's  dismissal;  his  subse- 
quent neglect  of  the  Princess;  and  finally,  the  acquittal  of 
her  supposed  guilt,  signed  by  the  Duke  of  Portland,  &c, 
at  the  time  of  the  secret  inquiry, — when,  if  proof  could  have 
been  brought  against  her,  it  certainly  would  have  been  done; 
and  which  acquittal,  to  the  disgrace  to  all  parties  concerned, 
as  well  as  to  the  justice  of  the  nation  in  general,  was  not 
made  public  at  the  time.     A  common  criminal  is  publicly 
condemned  or  acquitted.     Her  Royal  Highness  command- 
ed me  to  have  these  letters  published  forthwith, — saying, 
"  You  may  sell  them  for  a  great  sum."     At  first,  (for  she 
had   spoken   to  me  before,   concerning    this    business,)  I 
thought  of  availing  myself  of  the  opportunity;  but  upon  se- 
cond thoughts,  I  turned  from  this  idea  with  detestation;  for 
if  I  do  wrong  by  obeying  her  wishes  and  endeavouring  to 
serve  her,  I  will  do  so  at  least  from  good  and  disinterested 
motives,  not  from  any  sordid   views.     The   Princess  com- 
mands me,  and  I  will  obey  her,  whatever  may  be  the  issue, 
but  not  for  fare  or  fee.     1  own,  I  tremble,  not  so  much  for 
myself  as  for  the  idea  that  she  is  not  taking  the  best  and 
most  dignified  way  of  having  these   papers  published. — 
Why  make  a  secret  of  it  at  all?     If  wrong,  it  should  not 
be  done;  if  right,  it  should  be  done  openly  and  in  the  face 
of  her  enemies.     In  her  Royal  Highness's  case,  as  in  that 
of  wronged  princes,  in  general,  why  do  they  shrink  from 
straight-forward    dealings,   and   rather    have    recourse    to 
crooked  policy?     I  wish  in  this  particular  instance  I  could 
make  Her  Royal  Highness  feel  thus;  but  she  is  naturally 
indignant  at  being  falsely  accused,  and   will   not  conde- 
scend to  an  avowed  explanation.   She  wishes  her  cause  to  be 
espoused  by  others. — This  appears  to  me  a  xevy  false  pride. 
But  were  1  to  propose  to  her  Royal  Highness  to  place  this 
affair  in  other  and  abler  hands  than   my  own,  she  would 
suppose  that  I  shrunk  from  the  task. — Now  that  is  not  the 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  45 

case;  whatever  imprudence  there  may  be,  there  is  no  dis- 
honour in  the  service  I  am  about  to  render  her;  let  me  not 
therefore  seem  to  wish  to  avoid  it. 

Shortly  after,  for  some  reason  or  other,  which  never 
came  to  my  knowledge,  I  was  spared  all  farther  anxiety 
upon  the  subject,  as  other  parties  stepped  forward,  and  her 
Royal  Highness,  knowing  that  I  would  not  profit  by  the 
transaction,  permitted  her  papers  to  be  placed  in  their 
hands. 

Friday,  October  21st. — Yesterday,  the  melancholy  Lady 
M came  to  see  ;ne.  I  was  obliged  to  go  to  Kensing- 
ton by  appointment,'  so  I  could  not  take  Lady  M with 

me  in  the  carriage,  and  she  walked  away  on  foot.  I  was 
quite  grieved  at  heart  for  her.  She  was  more  depressed  in 
spirit  than  ever.  When  I  arrived  at  the  palace,  her  Royal 
Highness  was  standing  at  the  window,  evidently  awaiting 
my  arrival  impatiently.  She  finished  reading  to  me  the 
rest  of  the  papers  and  correspondence,  which  occupy  at 
present  so  much  of  her  thoughts. — I  have  never  known  a 
more  extraordinary  person  than  the  Princess.  She  writes 
occasionally  with  much  spirit,  and  many  of  the  copies  of 
her  letters  to  the  Prince  are  both  clever  and  touching;  some- 
times there  is  a  series  of  exalted  sentiment  in  what  she 
says  and  does,  that  quite  astonishes  me,  and  makes  me  rub 
my  eyes  and  open  my  ears,  to  know  if  it  is  the  same  person 
who  condescends  to  talk  low  nonsense,  and  sometimes  even 
gross  ribaldry.  One  day  I  think  her  all  perfection — ano- 
ther I  know  "not  what  to'lhink.  The  tissue  of  her  charac- 
ter is  certainly  more  uneven  than  that  of  any  other  person 
I  was  ever  acquainted  with.  One  day,  there  is  tinsel  and 
tawdry — another  worsted — another  silk  and  satin — ano- 
ther gold  and  jewels — another  de  la  boue,  de  la  crasse, — 
que  dirais-je?  et  peut  Hrefaitrop  dit. 

I  have  so  often  determined  to  write  a  consecutive  jour- 
nal, and  have  so  often  failed,  not  from  idleness,  which  is 
not  my  besetting  sin,  but  from  the  danger  of  telling  all  I 
think — all  I  know— that  I  have  shrunk  back  into  silence, 
and  thought  it  better,  wiser  perhaps,  to  forget  entirely  the 
passing  events  of  the  day,  than  to  record  them. 

After  the  examination  of  the  papers,  I  was  desired  to 

remain  during  luncheon.     Lady  A H n  was  the 

lady  in  waiting,  and  she  was  sent  for  to  attend.  I  believe 
the  Princess  has  told  the  whole  story  to  her,  and,  as  she  is 
very  fond  of  secrets,  I  make  no  doubt  she  has  heard  them 


46  MEMOIRS    OF   THE 

in  all  their  details.  Then  there  are  other  ladies  who,  I 
shrewdly  suspect,  have  also  been  admitted  to  this  confi- 
dence. Most  women,  indeed,  think  a  secret  is  not  worth 
knowing,  if  one  may  not  tell  it  to  a  dozen  or  two  intimate 
friends.  To  own  the  truth,  I  am  a  very  bad  hand  at  keep- 
ing secrets  myself,  and  my  best  chance  of  doing  so  is  the 
great  facility  with  which  I  forget  them.  Nothing  that  does 
not  interest  my  heart  or  my  passions  has  any  great  hold 
over  my  imagination  or  thoughts.  I  am  only  vulnerable 
through  my  affections.  My  weal  and  wo  lie  all  in  that 
quarter;  what  then  can  it  have  in  common  with  a  court? 

Saturday,  the  28th  October,  1811.— Yesterday  Sir  Wal- 
ter F came  and  told  me  a  curious  conversation  which 

he  had  held  the  night  before  with  the  Prince  Regent. 
"  Well,  F — r,  so  you  were  paying  your  court  to  the  Prin- 
cess of  Wales  at  Tonbridge  I  hear,"  alluding  to  the  day 
he  went  there  last  May,  when  she  spoke  to  Sir  Walter. 
The  Baronet — "Yes,  Sir,  her  Ro}ral  Highness  was  very 
gracious  to  me,  and  I  thought  it  my  duty  to  show  the  Prin- 
cess of  Wales  every  respect;  but  I  did  not  stay  to  supper, 
though  she  was  graciously  pleased  to  invite  me;  because  I 
thought,  if  your  Royal  Highness  heard  of  it,  you  might  not 
have  been  pleased."  Regent — "  What  did  she  say  lu  you?" 
"  She  asked  me,  Sir,  why  I  had  not  advised  the  Princess 
Charlotte  to  go  to  the  sea  side  for  change  of  air, — saying, 
"it  would  do  her  Royal  Highness  a  great  deal  of  good," 
and  insisted  upon  it  that  I  ought  to  do  so."  "And  what 
did  you  reply?"  eagerly  questioned  the  Prince.  "  I  re- 
plied, Sir,  that  when  I  had  last  the  honour  of  seeing  her 
Royal  Highness  the  Princess  Charlotte,  she  was  in  such 
perfect  health  that  she  appeared  not  to  require  any  medical 
advice;  consequently,  it  would  be  highly  improper  that  I 

should  interfere.     Oh,  Sir  Walter  F ,  rejoined  the 

Princess  of  Wales,  you  are  a  courtier;  and  we  both 
laughed."  Regent — "Was  that  all?" — •'  Yes,  Sir, 'that 
was  all — stay,  another  word  I  recollect;  when  the  Princess 
first  did  me  the  honour  to  speak  to  me,  she  said,  '  I  know 
you  dare  not,  you  must  not  speak  to  me?'  to  which  I  an- 
swered, Pardon  me,  Madam,  1  never  had  any  orders  from 
the  Prince  not  to  speak  to  the  Princess  of  Wales." 

At  this,  Sir  Walter  said  the  Prince 'seemed  pleased. 
Persons,  however  lost  to  rectitude,  are  not  lost  to  the  sense 
of  it;  and  he  felt  that  the  meaning  of  these  words  was, 
what  he  ought  to  feel,  and  what  his  friend  ought  to  have 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  47" 

answered.  The  Prince  then  observed,  "  I  hear  Lady 
Charlotte  Campbell  is  very  tired  of  her  situation;"  to  which 
Sir  Walter  replied,  "That  he  had  never  known  Lady 
Charlotte  to  have  expressed  such  a  sentiment."  Here  the 
conversation  ended. 

Sir  Walter  told  me  that  by  what  he  could  gather  from 
all  the  Carlton  House  courtiers,  he  thought  it  most  likely 
if  any  question  came  on  in  Parliament,  respecting  an  addi- 
tional allowance  to  the  Princess,  it  would  be  favourably  re- 
ceived. This  looks,  I  think,  as  if  they  were  afraid  her 
wrongs  might,  if  not  redressed,  in  pecuniary  matters  at 
least,  raise  a  strong  party  in  her  favour,  and  what  is  worse 
for  the  ministers  and  placemen,  against  the  Prince.  Un- 
fortunajely  (I  say  unfortunately,  because  the  dissensions  of 
all  families,  and  more  especially  of  Royal  families,  fre- 
quently lead  to  incalculable  evils,  and  often  overturn  king- 
doms, and  principalities,  and  powers,) — unfortunately  the 
Princess  of  Wales  cannot  become  popular  without  the 
Prince  of  Wales  becoming  the  reverse;  for  the  odium  which 
is  taken  from  her,  must  of  necessity  fall  upon  him;  and 
this,  in  these  changeable  times,  when  the  dregs  of  the  na- 
tion are  all  shook  into  commotion,  is  any  thing  but  desira- 
ble. Who  can  say  where  discontent  may  end,  if  it  once 
lift  up  its  hydra  head;  or  whether  redress  of  public  grievan- 
ces, even  if  they  be  really  such,  and  not  innovations,  may 
not  lead  to  the  ultimate  subversion  and  overthrow  of  "the 
constitution?  Yet,  on  the  other  hand,  a  blind  and  bigoted 
adherence  to  the  past,  and  a  venal  Parliament,  who  are. 
slaves  to  the  monarch  and  his  minions,  are  not  less  danger- 
ous.— No,  the  lungs  of  Englishmen  will  not  breathe  freely 
under  a  corrupl  government;  and  though  evil  spirits  ever 
have  arisen,  and  ever  will  arise,  when  the  tempest  breaks 
forth,  yet  to  submit  to  present  evil  for  fear  of  greater 
danger,  is  not  the  characteristic  of  the  nation;  though  it  has 
Ion"-  shown  patience  with  its  rulers,  even  under  discon- 
tent at  their  supineness. .  This  century  will  not  pass  with- 
out many  awful  changes.  We  are  come  to  a  crisis.  No- 
thing stands  still  in  this  world — our  prosperity  has  reached 
ks  highest  point — all  things  now  tend  to  change.  What 
leads  me  more  particularly  to  think  so  is,  the  blindness  of 
those  in  power.  "  Whom  the  gods  mean  to  destroy,  they 
blind;"  and  in  all  events  of  magnitude,  whether  in  social 
life  or  in  that  of  nations,  the  truth  of  this  observation  is  ex- 
emplified.     The  security,  the   self-sufficiency  of  princes 


48  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

and  their  creatures,  and  above  all,  the  blindness  of  princes 
themselves,  is  a  forcible  comment  upon  this  remark. 

I  grieve  to  think  that  the  Princess  of  Wales  is  obstinate- 
ly bent  upon  bringing  forward  her  wrongs  and  her  com- 
plaints at  this  moment.  She  will  only,  now,  be  made  the 
tool  of  party.  Had  she  waited  till  her  daughter  was  of  age, 
to  have  backed  her  cause,  and  supported  it  with  filial  love, 
as  well  as  by  the  influence  which  a  young  heir-apparent 
Queen  would  necessarily  exercise  over  the  minds  of  her 
future  subjects,  then  she  might  have  succeeded.  But  as  it 
is — alas!  alas!  all  public,  like  private  greatness,  rests  its 
security  on  moral  rectitude;  and  where  that  is  deficient, 
the  edifice  is  built  on  sand.  No  marvel,  that  those  who 
are  denominated  the  vulgar  should  be  so  taken  by  the  bait 
of  rank  and  greatness.  Rank  and  greatness  are  in  them- 
selves truly  admirable;  real  greatness,  in  its  original  and 
highest  sense,  is  an  attribute  of  the  Divinity,  and  earthly 
grandeur  is  the  visible  sign  by  which  it  is  presented  to  out- 
senses.  The  misfortune  is,  that  there  is  hardly  such  an 
image  of  the  Divinity  existing  as  true  greatness. 

My  pen  has  never  before  busied  itself  with  such  a  sub- 
ject, but  my  situation  naturally  makes  me  sometimes  re- 
flect upon  things,  from  which  I  turn  away  with  pleasure  to 
the  illusory  world  that  I  have  created  for  myself — that  vie 
interieure  which  is  worth  all  the  rest,  and  to  those  simple 
realities  which  nature  and  natural  pleasures  afford. 

I  went  this  evening  to  a  friend  of  mine,  Miss  B : 

this  person,  whom  I  have  known  so  long,  and  esteem  so 
highly,  has  not  always  a  winning  manner,  and  certainly 
every  now  and  then  talks  to  her  friends  in  a  way  that  is 
not  pleasant.  The  love  that  is  much  stronger  on  the  one 
side  than  on  the  other,  is  always  painful  to  witness:  as  to 
myself,  the  natural  suavity  of  my  manner  and  temper  (no 
praise,  since  it  is  constitutional:)  a  suavity  that  I  sometimes 
blame  myself  for,  when  it  induces  me  to  gloss  over  senti- 
ments to  which  a  more  bold  frame  of  mind  would  express 
its  dislike  or  abhorrence,— imparts  somewhat  of  its  own  na- 
ture to  those  with  whom  I  associate,  and  with  those  of  my 
friends  in  whose  tempers  and  manners  the  angular  sharp 
predominates — I  am  less  apt  to  heurter  myself  against  these 
than  they  are  against  each  other.     This  I  felt  yesterday 

evening,  but  if  my  friend  Miss  B sacrifices  somewhat 

to  the  world,  it  must  be  said  to  her  honour,  that  that  sacri- 
fice is  never  kindness  of  heart  or  integrity  of  character. 

It  is  not  always  in  our  power  to  be  generous,  or  to  ren- 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE   FOURTH.  49 

tier  great  services,  but  it  is  always  in  our  power  to  sooth 
a  mind  and  exhilarate  spirits  less  fortunately  constituted 
than  our  own,  and  I  do  not  feel  it  to  be  lost  time  when  I 
have  dedicated  some  hours  to  such  a  purpose,  or  at  least  to 

the  attempt.      Went  again  to  Miss  B ;  Sir  Humphry 

and  Lady  Davy  were  there;  Sir  Humphry,  accustomed  to 
adulation,  seems  to  fall  into  surliness  or  d illness  where  he 
meets  it  not: — his  allowed  pre-eminence  in  the  science  ot 
chemistry  places  him  in  that  respect  above  every  one,  but 
I  never  could  find  that  there  was  great  superiority  in  other 
respects.  No  person  moving  in  the  same  sphere  as  myself 
is  less  liable  to  be  led  away  to  like,  or  dislike  persons  who 
are  a  little  more  orfess  vulgar  in  point  of  manner,  but  there 
is  a  peculiar  degree  of  under  breeding  in  Sir  Humphry, 
which  is  indicative  of  inferiority  of  intellect.  I  believe  this 
proceeds  from  his  always  trying  to  be  what  he  is  not,  ajoli 
eceurj*  if  every  body  would  only  be  natural — but  it  is  na- 
tural to  some  people  to  be  affected.  Lady  Davy  makes 
what  1  call  a  douce  societe;  never  in  my  life,  heard  her 
speak  ill  of  any  person;  she  is  frank  and  kind  hearted,  and 
has  much  acquirement,  with  a  wish  and  thirst  for  more, 
which  it  is  pleasing  to»see:  any  thing,  even  a  perpetual  bus- 
tle after  knowledge,  is  preferable  to  the  careless  and  dream- 
ing way  in  which  some  persons  pass  their  insignificant  lives 
—pampering  every  appetite  and  never  cultivating  the  only 
spark  of  being  they  ought  to  be  proud  of,  the  intellectual 
one,  without  which  the  animals  are  our  superiors;  yet  how 
many  of  those  who  form  what  is  called  good  society  are 
sunk  in  this  sensual  sloth. 

Wednesday,  28th  of  October. — Dined  at  Fish  Crawfurd's 
an  old  epicure  and  bon  vivant,  but  one  who  has  seen  much 
of  the  world.  He  has  lived  with  all  the  celebrated  people 
of  his  time,  Madame  Du  Deffand,  Voltaire,  Hume,  &c.  &c, 
and  he  seems  to  remember  with  pleasure,  that  he  has  done 
so,  though  gout  and  the  consequences  of  indulgence  render 

*  Sir  Humphry  Davy  is  harshly  judged  in  this  paragraph.  He  was 
a  man  of  exceeding  refinement  of  mind  and  singular  discrimination  of 
character:  if  he  sometimes  indulged  more  than  became  the  philoso- 
pher in  the  pleasures  of  the  table,  he  never  did  so  to  any  degrading 
excess;— what  if  a  little  misplaced  vanity,  at  times,  rendered  him  too 
emulous  to  please ?  there  was  a  great  redeeming  point  in  his  charac- 
ter, which  raised  him  alike  from  becoming  the  slave  of  this  grovelling 
propensity,  or  from  plunging  into  any  habits  derogatory  to  his  fame. 
Sir  Humphry  Davy  was  a  religious  man,  and  his  last  two  works  will 
ever  be  most  valuable  testimonies,  (if  such  were  wanting, )  to  prove  that 
science  is  not  necessarily  the  foe  of  Christianity. 

Vol.  I.  5 


50  MEMOIRS  OF  THTE 

him  crabbed  and  complaining.  His  table,  his  house,  is  most 
luxurious,  but  his  own  dissatisfied  mind,  his  emaciated  body, 
and  bloated  face,  give  the  lie  to  happiness.  I  have  ever 
felt  that  old  age,  even  in  its  least  respectable  form,  is  still 
to  be  respected,  and  I  have  a  peculiar  pleasure  in  pleasing 
old  people.  I  reckon,  that  yesterday's  dinner  was  a  lesson; 
there  was  elegance,  luxury — all  that  can  flatter  the  fancy 
with  well  chosen  and  appropriate  objects,  as  well  as  the 
palate, — but  pleasure,  happiness  where  was  it?  Does  it 
sit  at  the  board  of  the  epicurean? — is  it  enthroned  in  purple 
and  fine  linen? — No.  A  very  modified  quantum  of  these,, 
with  vigour  of  mind  and  body — a  fair  and  honourable  pur- 
suit, a  goal  in  view — and  contentment  at  one's  right  hand, 
be  it  gained  or  not; — these  are,  I  believe,  the  best  ingre- 
dients to  form  the  mixed  good,  which  men  have  agreed  to 
call  happiness.  It  was  melancholy,  to  observe  this  old 
man,  in  the  possession  of  all  which  can  gratify  human  de- 
sires, and  yet  repining,  and  in  fact,  wretched.  A  Tanta- 
lus, with  the  cup  of  enjoyment  at  his  lip, — but  there  are 
many  such, — how  many!  -There  ever  have  been,  there 
ever  will  be  such,  so  long  as  people  live  to  themselves 
alone. 

The  Princess  said,  that  the  complaints  made  in  parlia- 
ment, of  government's  not  having  sent  over  supplies  to  Lord 
Wellington  in  the  number,  and  with  the  celerity  he  de- 
manded them,  looked  like  an  avant-propos  for  more  com- 
plaints, and  would  end  by  Lord  Wellesley's  becoming 
prime  minister;  then,  said  she,  "blood  and  treasure  would 
not  be  spared,  and  the  constitution  and  country  will  be 
lost."*  I  see  many  other  reasons  for  the  ruin  of  the  coun- 
try, but  those  who  might  do  good  are  blind.  Lord  Moira 
is  sent  off  to  India; — I  call  it  being  sent  off,  for  it  is  evident 
the  Regent  cannot  bear  to  have  him  near  his  person.  How 
few  people  in  any  rank  of  life,  have  sufficient  nobility  of 
soul  to  love  those  to  whom  they  stand  indebted!  Would 
you  lose  a  friend,  oblige  him — not  in  the  minor  circum- 
stances of  life,  but  let  the  obligation  be  vast,  and  it  crushes 
friendship  to  death. 

Lord  Moira  has  accepted  this  honourable  banishment,  be- 

*  How  ill  she  judged.  It  was  the  Duke  of  Wellington  who  saved 
the  country,  who  saved  the  constitution.  He  never  committed  but  one 
great  blunder,  and  that  was  in  yielding  to  the  cry  of  the  day— the 
Emancipation  of  the  Roman  Catholics.  The  sensible  part  of  that  per- 
suasion of  Christians  themselves  say,  the  English  Constitution  was  up- 
rooted by  the  measure. 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  51 

cause  he  cannot  help  himself,  and  is  ruined— but  who  ruined 
him?  He  lent  uncounted  sums  of  money  in  former  years, 
of  which  no  note  whatever  was  taken,  and  of  which  he 
never  will  see  one  farthing  in  return.  Yet  no  one  pities  or 
feels  for  this  man.  Why? — because  he  is  of  nobler  stuff 
than  the  common  herd.  Vanity  and  ambition  perhaps,  his 
only  flaws,  if  flaws  they  be;  but  his  attachment,  or  rather 
devotion  to  the  Regent  was  sincere,  chivalric,  and  of  a  ro- 
mantic kind,  such  as  the  world  neither  believes  in  nor  un- 
derstands; it  was  a  kind  of  affection  which  amounted  even 
to  a  passion  of  the  mind,  and  like  all  passions,  led  him  into 
one  or  two  acts  beneath  the  "chevalier  sans  pear  et  sans 
reproche,n*  but  nevertheless  he  is  a  noble  creature  upon  the 
whole;  and  what  can  poor  human  nature  ever  be  more? 
Formed  to  live  in  another  day  than  the  present,  some  men 
seem  born  too  late,  and  some  men  too  soon,  but  perhaps 
the  only  wise  men  are  those  who  fulfil  their  course  at  the 
time,  and  in  the  manner,  where  providence  has  placed  them, 
suiting  their  conduct  and  their  actions  to  the  present,  ra- 
ther than  indulging  in  speculative  theories  for  the  future,  or 
vain  regrets  for  the  past,  neither  of  which  can  they  judge 
with  truth,  for  former  times  are  seen  through  the  medium, 
of  other  men's  minds,  and  the  future  belongs  to  the  All- 
seeing  eye  alone:  if  the  present  moment  be  ever  well  em- 
ployed, the  by-gone,  and  the  to  come,  will  take  care  of: 
themselves. 

Sonnet.     Bi  Lord  Moiha. 

"  What  splendid  vision  o'er  my  fancy  flies, 
And  with  long-  dormant  heat  my  bosom  warms, 
Banners  and  barbed  steeds,  and  loud  alarms, 
And  listed  fields,  and  love  the  mighty  prize; 
Bewitching  to  my  thought  the  years  arise 
When  chivalry  refined  the  pride  of  arms: 
Then  valour  sought  its  meed  from  female  charmsf 
And  fierceness  melted  at  the  fair  one's  eyes. 
O  days,  congenial  to  the  noble  soul! 
Then  love  was  dignity;  then  falsehood,  shame; 
Then  conscious  truth  a  generous  boast  allowed. — - 
Now,  under  fashion's  frivolous  control, 
'Tis  ridicule  to  bear  a  towering  name, 
Or  hold  a  post  distinguished  from  the  crowd." 

Very  frequently,  the  dinners  at  Kensington  were  ex- 

*  A  very  fine  sonnet  by  Lord  Moira,  will  express  the  high-toned  sen- 
timent which  really  was  his. 


52  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

ceedingly  agreeable,  thecompan j  well  chosen,  and  sufficient 
liberty  given  to  admit  of  their  conversing  with  unrestrained 
freedom, — this  expression  does  not  imply  a  licentious  mode 
of  conversation,  although  sometimes,  in  favour  of  wit,  dis- 
cretion and  modesty  Were  trenched  upon.  Still  that  was 
by  no  means  the  general  turn  of  the  discourse.  Mr.  Gell 
and  Mr.  Craven,  in  particular,  though  often  very  droll, 
were  never  indecorous;  I  think  I  never  knew  a  man  of  a 
more  kind  and  gentle  turn  of  mind — nor  one  so  humanised 
by  literature  and  the  particular  pursuits  to  which  he  devo- 
ted himself,  as  Mr.  Gell;  affectionate  in  the  highest  degree, 
and  willing  to  impart  all  he  knew,  (no  common  stock  of  in- 
formation,) in  the  least  pedantic  and  most  agreeable  man- 
ner; and  if  ever  he  indulged  in  a  joke  that  was  questiona- 
ble, it  was  in  a  manner  so  devoid  of  real  vice,  that  the  most 
punctilious  or  delicate  female  could  scarce  take  offence  at 
it.  Mr.  Craven  likewise,  his  intimate  friend,  without  pos- 
sessing the  strength  of  mind  and  the  classical  knowledge  of 
Mr.  Gell,  was  full  of  talent,  and  all  those  lighter  acquire- 
ments which  adorn,  if  they  do  hot  instruct  society. 

To-day,  I  received  another  letter  from  my  amusing 
friend,  C.  K..  S. 

"Christ  Church,  Oxford,  October,  1811. 
Dear , 

"What  can  I  say  to  the  generous  return  for  my  abomi- 
nable scribbles,  which  you  have  made  me  by  your  delight- 
ful letter,  and  I  cannot  for  my  life  think  of  another  case 
than  the  bounty  of  the  outlandish  queen,  who  gave  a  heap 
of  diamonds  for  a  wash-hand  basin,  which  was  a  sin  of  ig- 
norance,   as    when  Lady  Strath  more   married    Bowes,  or 

C a  D d,  P r  B 1.     Oh!  heavens,  I  forgot 

myself,  do  not  tell  .    I  wish  that  I  had  as  many  eyes 

as  Fame  or  Argus,  or  a  spider,  which  I  am  told  hath  eight. 

Alas!  that  Lady  D s,  who  is  the  very  reverse  of  a 

spider  in  every  thing  but  her  industry,  hath  but  one; — Oh! 
that  I  possessed  as  many  hands  as  Briareus;  or  some  of  the 
Hindoo  gods,  that  I  might  produce  a  weekly  drawing,  pro- 
vided my  humble  efforts  were  crowned  with  such  a  rich 
reward  about  once  a  quarter,  as  your  epistles  are  calculated 
to  bestow;  but  lack-a-day!  my  eyes,  which  scarcely  can 
be  called  a  pair,  demand  a  string  like  a  doll's,  in  the  sim- 
ple operation  of  turning,  and  my  fingers  are  about  as  un- 
wieldy as  an  Irishman's  legs  in  the  gout;  nevertheless,  I 
am  resolved,  in  spite  of  nature  and  my  stars,  to  write,  that 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  53 

ts,  to  wield  a  goose-quill  in  your  Lordship's  service,  as  long 
as  I  possess  a  little  more  vision  than  the  mole,  and  energies 
that  may  in  any  measure  rival  those  of  the  unfortunate 
sloth.  In  truth,  the  honour  of  any  command  or  employment 
from  you,  is  sufficient  to  transform  a  sloth  into  a  squirrel, 
for  I  must  tell  you,  my  dear  fellow,  that  you  are  one  of  the 
most  extraordinary  personages  of  the  present  time;  perhaps 
you  did  not  know  it  before, — but  only  consider  a  little  in 
the  first  place,  nothing  can  be  more  honourable  and  illus- 
trious than  your  family,  and  your  rank  is  suitable  to  it. 
Your  Lordship  doth  not  resemble  some  very  fine  and  lofty 
gentlemen  of  my  acquaintance,  who,  however  high  their 
place  may  now  be,  had  merchants  and  mechanics  for  their 
fathers;  and  midens,  I  guess,  for  their  grandsires;  then  Na- 
ture s§e,ms  to  have  run  hiddy-giddy  in  your  formation,  for 
she  made  you  noble  too  in  mind,  and  moreover,  gave  you  a 
voice  of  unexampled  power  and  sweetness,  which,  in  my 
humble  opinion,  is  one  of  her  greatest  bestowments, — and 
here  allow  me  just  to  hint  at  your  Lordship's  scientific  pur- 
suits, and  in  short,  whatever  is  praiseworthy,  and  fitting 
the  true  dignity  of  human  nature;  all  of  which  is  wonder- 
ful in  any  body,  but  in  one  so  spoiled,  so  favoured,  I  should 
say  perfectly  prodigious*!  As  to  your  more  exalted  merits, 
I  shall  not  particularize  them,  my  rude  pen  being  altoge- 
ther unworthy;  only  this,  I  may  say,  that  if  your  Lordship, 
according  to  the  chances  of  this  world,  hath  not  always 
more  than  King  Montezuma,  who  reclined  upon  a  bed  of 
roses, — yet  your  pious  fortitude  and  resignation,  have  given 
a  wholesome  lesson  to  your  inferiors,  and  added  graces  to 
yourself. 

From  all  that  I  have  ever  heard  or  seen,  I  am  convinced 
that  you  were  intended  to  make  as  conspicuous  a  figure  in 
the  next  world  as  in  this — and  that  a  sentence  in  the  funeral 
sermon  of  Mary,  Duchess  of  Queensberry,  who  was  a  very 
exalted  character,  might  with  great  justice  be  applied  to 
you — the  preacher  says,  •  But  dry  up  your  tears,  my  bre- 
thren, and  weep  no  more,  for  this  most  illustrious  Prin- 
cess, who,  though  she  was  a  great  and  good  Duchess  on 
earth,  is  now  a  great  and  good  Duchess  in  Heaven.'  This 
is  not  very  neat,  but  it  is  all  very  true,  so  that  I  may  say 
with  the  clown,  in  Measure  for  Measure,  *  here  be  truths.' 

"Alas! — your  account  of  London,  I  shall   not  for  a 

*  Was  there  ever  such  fulsome  flattery  addressed  from  one  man  to 
another?     Did  the  man  want  to  be  made  a  lord  of  the  bed-chamber? 
5* 


54  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

great  while  experience  the  truth  of,  as  when  I  leave  this 
place  I  must  repair  to  Scotland,  where  I  am  to  remain  for 
ages: — 

"  To  me  the  gods,  severely  kind,  ordain 
A  cool  suspense  from  pleasure  and  from  pain." 

However,  as  the  dulness  you  mentioned  mu-t  exist  in  the 
mass  of  people,  (for  it  cannot  possibly  be  in  you,)  I  must 
try  to  extract  a  sour-grape  comfart  fiom  the  consideration, 
that  London  is  not  what  it  was. — Meanwhile,  be  it  known 
unto  you  that  the  ingenious  Mr.  Shelley  hath  been  expelled 
from'the  University  on  account  of  his  atheistical  pamphlet. 
Was  ever  such  bad  taste  and  barbarity  known?     He  be- 
haved like  a  hero,  'he  showed   to  fortune's  frowns  a  brow 
serene,'  and  declared  his  intention  of  emigrating  to  Ame- 
rica.*    I  send  his  romance,  which  would  have  reached  you 
sooner  had   not  an  impudent  person  cribbed  it  from   my 
rooms.     I  also  transmit  Octavian,  and  a  volume  of  poems 
written  by  a  friend   of  mine.     He  is,  poor  fellow!  in  the 
last  stage  of  a  consumption;  so  the  critics  should  be  mer- 
ciful, for  he  will  never  write  better,  nor  worse,  (which  is 
of  more  consequence  to  brother  authors,)  and  a  death-bed 
repentance    of  such  literary  crimes  is  as   bitter,  as  it  is 
useless. — Doubtless,  after  this  cargo  of  Oxford  goods,  your 
Lordship  will  exclaim,  enough,  enough,  no  more  of  it,  de 
grace.     I  am  not  wise  in  sending  you  such  a  dose  at  once, 
for  I  fear  that  our  poetical  fervours  will  prove  little  better 
than  camomile,  only  not  so  wholesome,  and  that  you  wilt 
never  more  endure  the  sight  of  such  another  bouquet.     I 
transmit  my  treasures  of  Parnassus  by  the  coach,  but  this 
shall  move  per  post,  as  I  am   ever  dubious  concerning  the 
delivery  of  small  parcels  in  London;  and  though  my  books 
and  my  letters  be  of  little  consequence,  yet,  I  would  fain 
not  appear  wanting  in  respect  where  so  very  much  is  due. 
I  have  finished  your  portrait  and   it  is  not  like,  so  1  have 
met  the  fate  of  all  my  painting  predecessors. — Yet  to  catch 
your  Lordship's  likeness  would  not  be  quite  impossible,  if 

*  In  my  opinion,  Mr.  Shelley  merited  the  opinion  here  formed  of 
him.  Nevertheless  he  had  genius, — he  had  power;  but  his  genius 
was  an  evil  one,  and  his  powers  were  directed  to  a  bad  end,  or  what 
was  the  same  in  effect,  to  no  end  at  all;  the  best  parts  of  his  phren- 
zied  compositions  have  all  the  deleterious  qualities  of  alcohol;  and 
Hamlet  would  scarcely  think  it  necessary  to  apostrophize  his  shade 
in  the  questioning  words — "Bring'st  with  thee  aire  from  heaven,  or 
blasts  from  hell?" — but,  de  mortuis—He  was"  drowned  in  a  storm!!! 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  55 

this  s)'stem  of  galvanism  could  be  improved,  and  four 
painters  of  ancient  times  rendered  as  lively  by  it,  as  a  pig's 
tail  is  at  present. — I  would  rouse  from  his  dull  repose,  Ti- 
tian, to  paint  your  head;  Sir  Peter  Lely,  your  neck;  Van- 
dyke your  hands;  and  Rubens  for  the  draperies  and  back- 
ground of  the  picture; — then,  perchance,  one  might  have 
something  worth  looking  at: — as  matters  stand,  1  confess 
I  am  in  utter  despair.  Will  you  deign  to  read  some  Oxford 
gaiety? — I  was  at  a  route  at  the  Deanery  last  night.  The 
Deaneress,  Mrs.  Hall,  ci-devant  Miss  Byng,  and  sister  to 

the  P e,  a  fine  lady,  in  white  satin,  telling  us  the  price 

of  every  thing  in  her  drawing-room,  from  the  mantel-piece 
to  her  own  dickey? — We  had  tea  and  cards,  and, — what,  a 
Miss,  whbse  name  never  reached  me,  called  music.  After 
a  long  silence,  '  But  where  are  the  sweet  children?'  cried  a 
parson  present:  on  which,  after  two  tugs  of  the  bell,  the 
door  flew  open,  and  violet,  toute  la  .lingerie! — a  thousand 
little  things,  with  monstrous  mouths,  hopped  in,  like  the 
Egyptian  plague  of  frogs,  and  surrounded  the  poor  dean, 
who  resembled  St.  Anthony  in  one  of  his  Dutch  tempta- 
tions, squalling  aloud  lor  cake  and  tea,  and  I  kxiw  not 
what.  1  was  glad  to  escape,  leaving  the  eldest  boy  amu- 
sing himself  with  tickling  the  noses  of  all  the  company  in 
turns,  with  a  handful  of  dirty  hog-bristles,  to  the  great  de- 
light of  his  mother,  who  esteems  him  a  decided  wit':' — a 
propos  of  wits,  Lady  Westmoreland  hath  beet)  at  Lord 
Abingdon's,  near  this  town,  astonishing  the  weak  minds  of 
sundry  poor  youths  with  her  vivacities;  she  talked  to  a 
friend  of  mine  of  — — 's  account  of  the  plague  at  Athens, 
which  scared  him  sadly;  he  told  mc  that  he  swore  it  was 
d— d  fine,  though  he  had  never  read  a  word  of  it:  and  she 
played  on  a  Spanish  guitar,  sitting  on  a  cushion  in  the  lob- 
by by  the  light  of  the  lamps,  to  the  admiration  of  sundry 
bores,  who  n-ad  Sir  Charles  Grand ison,  and  think  a  mad 
countess  a  fine  thing.  For  my  part,  1  have  been  told  that 
she  is  really  not  clever,  and  I  never  could  admire  her 
looks, — she  hath  such  a  huge  nose  that  she  resembles  a 
hussar's  sabre  with  the  pouch  and  straps — she's  principally 
nose,  and  all  the  rest  of  her  seems  to  belong  to  it* — But 

♦This  is  a  false  and  altogether  caricature  portraiture  of  a  lady,  who 
deserves  to  be  far  othervv  se  transmitted  on  paper  to  posterity;  to 
great  talents  she  united  a  warm  and  affectionate  heart. — She  was  a 
singularly  delicate  and  sensible  woman. — Her  judgment  was  of  the 
••finest  order,  and  her  perception  in  reading  characters  partook  of  di- 
vination— so  rapid,  so  clear,  so  penetrating  were  her  decisions.    But 


56  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

it  is  time  for  me  to  have  done,  there  being  scarcely  any 
space  on  the  paper  left  for  the  name  of 

"  Your  Lordship's 

"  Faithful  servant." 

FROM  H.  R.  H.  THE  PRINCESS  OF  WALES. 

"  I  should  not  so  soon  have  encroached  on  your  time, 
my  dear  Lord,  but  that  there  has  happened  a  few  coinci- 
dences which  to  relate  to  you,  would  perhaps  afford  you 
amusement. — Lord  Deerhurst  is  quite  a  joke  to  the  secret 
marriage  of  the  ci-devant  Mrs.  Panton  with  a  Mr.  Geldi,  an 
acquaintance  of  Batty's,  and  why  it  is  kept  a  secret,  and 
why  it  is  made  public,  nobody  can  guess,  as  she  was  her 
own  mistress, — or  that  she  thought  that  she  was  public  pro- 
perty, and  that  it  would  be  essential  to  have  an  act  of  parlia- 
ment to  make  an  enclosure  to  become  private  property,  at 
a  moment's  warning. — Town  grows  every  day  thinner 
and  thinner;  though  I  had  last  Monday  a  large  party  at 
dinner  and,  in  the  evening,  a  little  hop  for  the  young  la- 
dies, yet  1  felt  how  useful  you  could  have  been  to  make  the 
party  go  oft'  more  lively  and  merrily.  Clan  Rowland,  very 
unusually,  danced  with  great  glee  the  whole  evening  with 

Lady  C — ' —  E ;  he  supped  at  my  table  with  her,  and 

I  have  not  the  smallest  doubt  that  Hymen  will  soon  crown 

that  work.     Lord  M E e  looked  pleased  with  him, 

and  praised  him  to  me   to  the  skies;   poor  Miss  R is 

quite  forsaken  by  him,  and  I  trust  she  will  be  wise  enough 
to  console  herself,  as  Ariadne  did — and  not  choose  a  Bac- 
chus, but  something  more  eligible  to  her  taste. 

"  Though  Lady  Harriet  is  very  cunning  and  sly,  still  I 
have  discovered  that  she  is  the  match-making  lady  to  her 
brother.  She  brought  Lady  E to  dinner,  and  did  no- 
thing than  prosing  in  praise  of  her. — Lady  G M 

takes  her  to ,  and  Lord  H is  also  of  the  party, 

and  the  final  proposal  will  be  made  there  under  the  shady 
trees,  or  by  the  placid   light  of  the  moon. — The  great  ball 

at  D House,  I  heard  was  magnificent;  Lord  H 

began  the  dance  with  Lady  E ,  and  she  was  introduced 

to  the  old  Duke,  who,  I  hear,  was  very  much  charmed  with 
her  beauty,  and  I  dare  say  this  marriage  will  be  settled  be- 
fore we  meet  again. 

with  nerves  too  finely  strung — the  instrument  has  jarred  under  rough 
hands  and  common  treatment; — had  she  met  with  an  answering'  mind 
she  would  not  have  been  torn — buffeted — destroyed. 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  57 

"  The  H ,  Lady  P ,  and  the  daughters  came  also 

to  my  party;  the  ojd  lady  looked  like  the  head  of  a  ship, 

Lady  P very  embarrassed,  the  two  young  ladies,  as 

usual,  frightfully  dressed — like  naughty  girls,  with  gray 
stuff  gowns,  to  make  them  learn  their  lesson  better  the  next 

day.     The  eldest  danced  with  B N ,  and  the  two 

younger  ones  danced  together.  ,They  did  not  stay  supper, 
but  went  away  very  early.     I   heard  the  next  day,  that 

Lady  C -s  had  sprained  her  ancle,  which  prevented  her 

from  going  to  dance   cotillions  next  day  at  Lord  U 's. 

She  sent,  instead,  early  in  the  morning,  for  a  surgeon,  to 
Mr.  Des  Hayes,  tly?  dancer,  and  he  came  and  said,  '  My 
Lady,  je  sais  bien  arranger  les  jambes  qui  se  portent  bien, 
mais  pas  celles  qui  sont  malades;'  and  so  he  left  the  room, 
and  she  was  obliged  to  keep  company  with  the  sofa. 

"Monday  next  my  humble  habitation  will  be  graced 
with  the  presence  of  Louis  XVIII.,  Madame  D'Angouleme, 
and  all  the  French  Princes,  and  above  thirty  French  peo- 
ple at  a  breakfast: — my  mother,  and  the  Princess  Sophia, 
and  some  old  fograms,  male  and  female,  will  be  there  to  en- 
liven the  party.  This  is  all  the  merriment  of  my  budget 
which  I  can  offer  you  to-day. 

"Mr.  Arbuthnot  looks  shy  and  dismal.  I  think  he 
must  leel  ashamed  of  his  cowardice,  never  to  have  asked 
me  to  one  of  the  many  suppers  which  he  has  given  lately. 
There  have  been,  I  hear,  very  charming  masquerades;  but 
I  speak  from  report  merely.  '  Mes  beaux  jours  sont  pas- 
ses.'    But  be  that  as  it  may,  I  always  remain, 

Your  affectionate  friend, 

"  C.  P." 

Wednesday  the  19th. — I  dined  at  Kensington.  All  the 
pleasure  of  the  party  was  marred  by  distant  looks,  and  si- 
lence, that  boded  coming  storms.     There  was  Miss  B , 

Mr.  Ward,  Mr.  Knight,*  and   Sir  James  Mackintosh,! — 

*  Mr.  Knight,  the  author  of  a  work  on  Taste,  which  it  has  been 
the  fashion  lo  receive  as  a  standard  work,  but  which  is  more  pom- 
pous and  dictatorial,  more  factitious  and  learned,  than  gifted  with  the 
spirit  of  his  subject.  Mr.  K.  was  a  man,  whom  loo  much  learning 
had  made  'not  mad,'  but  pompous,  not  wise  but  artificial;  a  man  of 
systems  and  nomenclatures,  dates  and  dulness;  whose  boast  was  scep- 
ticism, and  whose  enjoyments  were  those  of  a  bon  vivant.  Yet,  in  his 
own  family  he  was  loved,  for  he  was  generous  and  kind-hearted. — 
Oh!  the  mixed  texture  of  human  nature! 

-j-  Some  men  perform  more  than  is  expected  of  them  throughout 


.58  MEMOIRS   OF  THE 

the  latter  a  very  charming  man;  but  as  much  leaven  was 
thrown  into  this  society  as  the  Princess  of  Wales  could  put 
into  it,  to  make  it  disagreeable. 

Thursday. — I  went  to  Lady  D y's,  where,  amongst 

much  rubbish,  there  were  some  persons  worth  conversing 

with.       I    met    there,    my    old   friend    Lord    D ley. 

There  are  some  persons  whom  one  feels  to  be  sure  friends. 
It  is  impossible  for  a  being  gifted  with  quick  sensations  to 
be  deceived  in  this  respect.  I  know  not  if  it  can  be  ac- 
counted for  philosophically,  but  I  always  return  to  my  own 
system  of  fascination  and  attraction,  sans  rhyme  ni  raison. 
Lady  M.  came  to  see  me. — I  never  saw  so  melancholy  a 
proof  of  the  extent  of  punishment  that  conscience  can  in- 
flict on  those  who  have  not  fulfilled  the  severer  duties  of 
life.  The  leaven  of  disappointment  has  soured  all  the  ge- 
nuine virtues  of  her  disposition,  while  the  acuteness  of  her 
intellect,  and  her  quick  and  warm  affections,  have  been 
fatally  conducive  to  misery  instead  of  happiness. — Yet, 
like  a  wayward  child  that  has  been  long  indulged,  I  would 
not  thwart  her,  or  use  violence  to  instil  other  thoughts  to 
counteract  the  poison;  I  would,  on  the  contrary,  sooth  and 
lull  her  wounds  with  the  sedative  of  affection,  before  I  at- 
tempted to  give  stronger  medicines  to  turn  her  mind  and 
views  into  another  channel.  Alas',  riches  and  power  afford 
the  means  to  do  many  kind  things^  but  who  can  say  that 
when  the  means  are  ours,  the  inclination  will  remain?  The 
amusements  of  London,  unless  accompanied  by  all  which 
can  pamper  and  satisfy  ambition,  cease  to  be  pleasures. 

I  learnt  to-day  that  an  old  servant  of  my  family  was  at 
the  point  of  death.  The  idea  that  this  was  the  case,  and  that 
he  had  not  perhaps  sufficient  means  to  render  his  transit  to 
another  world  as  little  painful  as  possible,  affected  me. 
The  great  are  not  sufficiently  attentive  to  the  wants  of  their 
dependants — persons  who,  after  perhaps  passing  a  lifetime 
in  their  service,  often  die  poorly,  if  at  all  provided  for  by 
them.  This  sometimes  happens  from  procrastination;  not 
from  a  determined  neglect  or  a  hardened  indifference,  but 
from  the  vague  sensation  that  we  will  do  to-morrow  what  we 

life,  whilst  others  never  answer  to  the  idea  that  is  formed  of  their  ca- 
pacity. Sir  James  Mackintosh  had  considerable  fascination  and  ex- 
treme suavity  of  manner.  He  impressed  his  hearers  with  the  belief 
that  a  great  deal  more  remained  to  be  said  than  he  actually  expressed; 
and  thus  his  credit  was  unlimited,  while  his  means  were,  perhaps,  not 
of  vast  extent. 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  59 

are  not  inclined  to  do  to  day.  The  longer  I  live  the  more 
I  am  convinced,  that  to  put  off  a  good  intention  is  general- 
ly to  render  it  abortive. 

NOTE  FROM   H.    R.   H.  THE  PRINCESS  OF  WALES. 

"  All  the  news  I  can  offer  you,  my  dear ,  is  a  most 

dreadful  blunder  which  that  wonderful  woman,  Madame  De 
Stael,  has  committed.  She  was  in  some  party  several  eve- 
nings ago,  and  mistook  old  Mrs.  B for  the  Marchioness 

of  Hertford.  She  began  by  assuring  her  '  que  la  renommee 
avoit  vante  sa  beaute  et  son  esprit  par  tout  le  continent— 
que  ses  portraits  etoient  graves,  et  faisaient  les  charmes 
et  l'ornement  de  tous  les  palais.' — Of  course,  you  may 
imagine  that  this  event  has  been  the  laughing-stock  of 
these  last  eight  and  forty  hours.  I  had  the  unexpected  hap- 
piness of  seeing  my  brother  return:  he  gives  no  sanguine 
hopes  at  all  of  the  restoration  of  Germany,  and  he  has  a 
very  sad  opinion  of  Bei  nadotte.  To  conclude  my  letter,  I 
must  only  give  you  another  piece  of  information,  that  Ma- 
dame De  Stael  has  not  discovered  la  Pierre  Philosophale, 
but  'that  Lord  Castlereagh's  speech  about  the  treaty  with 
Sweden,  was  the  most  eloquent,  most  rhetorical  and  per- 
suasive speech  that  ever  was  made  in  parliament:'  these 
are  Madame  De  Stael's  own  words.  I  fear  this  is  not  the 
way  of  pleasing  in  this  country,  at  least  not  the  generality 
of  the  English  people.  She  also  had  a  great  dispute  with 
Lord  Lansdowue  about  the  Catholic  question,  which  has,  of 
course,  given  great  offence  to  all  the  opposition;  at  least  he 
might  have  supposed  that  Madame  De  Stael  must  be  tole- 
rant; but  writing  and  speaking  seem  to  be  two  different 
things  with  her.     1  will  not  longer  dwell  upon  her,'  and 

*  Very  few  persons  of  all  those  who  wrote  or  spoke  of  Madame  De 
Stael  were  at  all  competent  to  form  any  just  judgment  of  her  cha- 
racter— I  would  rather  say,  of  her  whole  moral  being', — not  from  de- 
ficiency in  point  of  talent  on  their  parts,  but  because  they  applied 
squares  and  rules  to  that  which  was  immeasurable,  and  beyond  all 
received  standards  of  mensuration.  .Madame  De  Stael  seems  to  me 
to  have  been  one  of  those  creations  which  appeal-  "few  and  far  be- 
tween" in  the  generation  of  mankind.  It  would  be  wholly  unfair  to 
judge  her  by  any  common  standard  of  her  sex.  In  all  that  pertained 
to  mind  she  was  of  no  sex;  those  qualities  which  are  supposed  by 
divine  right  to  belong  to  men  alone — vigour  of  understanding — ab- 
stract reasoning — vastness  of  conception — the  power  of  overleaping 
or  discarding  all  minor  considerations  to  arrive  at  a  conclusion, — were 
peculiarly  her  attributes,  and  never  did  the  epithet  of  Great  pertain 
more  jus.ly  to  any  human  being  than  to  herself.    She  has  been  accused 


60  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

only  anticipalc  the  pleasure  of  having  an  agreeable  tete-a- 
tete  with  you  on  Su inlay  morning.     Yours  sincerely, 

(Signed)  "C.  P." 

of  vanity,  but  it  was  falsely.  She  was  ambitious — not  vain;  and  she 
showed  that  she  was  so  with  such  an  ho  est  frankness,  that  little  minds 
could  not  understand  the  bonhommie  which  avowed  itself  athirst 
for  commendation, — not  the  puerile  commendation  only  of  cotempo- 
rary  praise,  but  the  lasting-  eulogy  of  well-earned  fame.  It  was  not 
wise  to  betray  this  feeling;  it  gave  an  ample  field  for  detractors  to  carp 
at,  and  it  sometimes  degenerated  into  an  egotism  that  distressed  her 
true  admirers.  But  if  Madame  De  Stael  was  ambitious  of  admiration, 
she  was  ambitious  also  of  a  woman's  prerogative — of  being  loved  as  a 
woman,  ll  is,  perhaps,  incompatible  to  unite  the  two  passions,  and 
to  be  successful  in  both  love  and  ambition;  for  the  1  itter  must  yield 
to  the  former  in  a  woman's  breast.  A  woman  who  loves  has  no  am- 
bition but  what  is  vested  in  the  object  of  that  love.  According  to 
all  memoirs  of  Madame  De  S  tad's  early  life,  she  was  unhappy  in  her 
affections;  and  when  at  last  she  fixed  the  heart  of  a  young  and  hand- 
some man — one  whom  she  deemed  worthy  of  becoming-  her  master 
— I  have  heard  her  say,  as  she  watched  the  approach  of  that  fatal  dis- 
ease, consumption,  which  was  bearing  him  rapidly  to  the  tomb,  "  All 
I  pray  for  is  to  die  before  him."  —  Her  prayer  was  granted;  nor  did  he 
long  survive  her.  In  regard  to  all  the  common  things  of  life,  she  was 
as  ignorant  as  a  child.  She  has  been  known  to  say,  '  L  will  marry 
my  daughter  to  an  Englishman;'' — and  when  the  person  to  whom  she 
said  it  laughed,  and  replied,  "That  may  not  be  so  easy,  and  if  you 
could  do  so,  it  might  not  be  for  the  happiness  of  cither  party;"  her 
astonishment  was  unfe  igned.  The  "  comment  done!"  so  naively  pro- 
nounced, was  replied  to  by  all  those  self  evident  common  places  which 
would  have  suggested  themselves  to  any  one  save  her:  such  as  diffe- 
rence of  education — of  habits — of  country, — while  she  saw  nothing 
but  her  own  very  charming  daughter,  and  the  propriety  of  securing 
her  happiness,  by  marrying  her  to  "tin  brave  Anglois;" — for  even 
Madame  De  Stael  forgot,  in  her  eagerness  to  secure  that  good  for  her 
child,  that  it,  in  fact,  only  rests  in  the  self-choice  of  the  heart.  One 
of  the  instances  where  Madame  De  Stael  exercised  a  woman's  right, 
a  prerogative  of  which  she  was  very  tenacious,  was  in  making  the 
Prince  of  Wales  pay  her  a  first  visit  in  her  lodgings  in  Argyll  Street. 
She  likewise  made  some  injudicious  attacks  upon  the  great  political 
characters  of  the  day;  questioning  them  on  points  which  they  nei- 
ther could  nor  would  answer,  and  which  shocked  the  received  notions 
of  the  country  she  was  in.  Hut  these  are  specks  and  flaws  in  the 
surface  of  her  character  only;  mean  and  envious  persons  dwell  on 
these,  but  it  will  ever  be  delightful  to  those  of  another  stamp  to  con- 
sider her  character  in  the  aggregate,  and  do  homage  to  her  vast  su- 
periority over  the  generality  of  human  kind.  l!er  kindness  to  her 
inferiors  in  station  and  in  intellect — her  total  freedom  from  all  affec- 
tation— her  strong  sense  of  natural  religion — the  enthusiasm  of  her 
nature, — were  qualities  as  admirable  as  Ihey  were  attractive.  It  was 
impossible  for  any  one  to  like  Madame  De  Stael  by  halves.  She  was 
destined  to  be  either  loved  or  hated.  No  wonder  Bonaparte  did 
the  latter:  perhaps  she  was  the  only  human  being  he  feared,  and 
could  not  conquer. 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  61 

"  London,  Wednesday. 
"  DEAR  , 

"  Lady  M.  informs  me  that  you  desire  I  should  write; 
so  I  hasten  to  obey  your  commands,  though  the  weather 
and  my  present  mode  of  life  are  very  far  from  propitious  to 
epistolary  exertion.  Nothing  but  smothering  heat,  and 
parties  that  melt  one  into  inanity.  To  go  into  the  streets 
is  to  endure  the  fiery  ordeal;  (which  none  of  us  here  at  pre- 
sent can  well  abide;)  and  to  venture  into  an  evening  as- 
sembly is  to  tumble  into  a  kettle  of  boiling  sprats.  For 
my  part,  I  have  endured  every  culinary  effect  of  fire  men- 
tioned by  Hannah  Glasse,  and  all  the  newer  processes  of 
steam  besides.  I  am  in  the  condition  of  that  poor  Princess 
in  the  Arabian  Nights,  who  fought  so  fatally  with  the  ge- 
nius about  the  transformation  of  a  monkey — (my  concerns 
are  full  as  apish,)  and  I  might  most  justly  exclaim  with 
Nourmahal, 

*  I  burn — I  more  than  burn;  I'm  all  a  fire; 
See  how  my  mouth  and  nostrils  flames  expire!' 

Thank  Heaven,  however,  I  am  not  in  love!     That  alone 

saves  me  from  utter  conflagration;  for  indeed,  dear , 

I  cannot  'join  the  multitude  to  do  evil,'  in  finding  Lady 

Elizabeth  B m,  and  Miss  Rumbold,  and  twenty  more, 

so  very,  very  charming.  Perhaps  my  taste  is  bad,  and 
these  belles  are  fairer  than  the  houris;  but  they  do  not 
strike  me; — a  circumstance  which  can  give  them  no  con- 
cern, and  is,  on  the  whole,  very  lucky  for  the  second  son 
of  a  poor  gentleman.  And  now,  I  wonder  if  you  will  care, 
to  hear  about  routs  and  such  things.  I  shall  talk  a  little 
on  that  subject  at  a  venture;  for  you  can  burn  this  as  soon 
as  you  please,  or  give  it  to  your  hound  to  mumble,  if  there 
happeneth  to  be  no  fire  (as  is  most  likely)  in  your  chamber. 
But  I  am  firmly  resolved  not  to  say  one  word  about  the 
disasters  at  Carlton  House;  though  I  saw  one  miserable 
person  brought  out  upon  a  board,  and  many  gentlewomen 
worse  attired  than  Eve  in  her  primitive  simplicity.  You 
must  have  heard  all  these  horrors  long  ago;  so  I  shall  begin 
with  Lady  Mary  L.  Crawford's  ball,  most  magnanimously 
given  in  the  Argyll  Street  rooms  to  all  her  friends,  or  ra- 
ther her  enemies — as  even  by  her  own  account  of  the  mat- 
ter, she  is  at  deadly  feud  with  the  whole  world.  I  could 
admire  nothing  at  the  entertainment — not  even  herself. 
Fancy  her  attired  in  draperies  of  muslin,  covered  with 
Vol.  I.  6 


62  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

gold  spots  the  size  of  a  sixpence!  When  she  reclined  un- 
der that  frippery  canvass  bower  at  the  end  of  the  ball-room, 
she  looked  exactly  like  an  ill-favoured  picture  of  Danae  in 

the  shower  of  gold.     To  crown  the  whole,  S ,*  with 

rouge  on  his  cheeks  and  ultramarine  on  his  nose,  handed 
her  to  supper!     '  Sure  such  a  pair!' 

"  I  was  one  of  the  happy  few  at  H 's  ball  given  in 

B m  House — a  house  I  had  been  long  anxious  to  see, 

as  it  is  rendered  classical  by  the  pen  of  Pope  and  the  pen- 
cil of  Hogarth.  It  is  in  a  woful  condition,  and,  as  I  hear, 
to  be  pulled  down.  The  company  was  very  genteel  (I 
can't  get  a  less  vulgar  word  to  express  the  sort  of  things) 
and  very  dull;  but  all  the  ladies  were  vastly  refreshed  with 
an  inscription  chalked  upon  the  floor,  which  each  applied 
to  herself.  Within  a  wreath  of  laurel,  like  burdock,  fast- 
ened with  fifty  crooked  true-love  knots,  were  the  myste- 
rious words   "Pour  elle."     Indeed,  my  dear  ,  the 

words  written  on  the  wall,  which  we  read  of  in  the  Bible, 
could  not  have  produced  a  greater  sensation.  First,  there 
was  such  a  flocking  to  the  centre  of  the  room — such  a  whis- 
pering— such  a  'Dear,  I  should  like  to  see  it!' — 'Pray 
Lady  Lou sia,  let  me  see  it!' — 'Goodness!  whom  can  it 
mean?' — and  then  a  triumphant  retreat;  smiles  upon  every 
lip,  exultation  in  every  eye.  It  was  quite  amusing  after- 
wards to  ask  any  lady  who  the  '  elle '  could  be — the  down- 
cast-look of  affected  humility,  then  the  little  sigh  of  half- 
surfeited  vanity,  and  then  the  stare  of  confident  triumph, 
crowned  with  '  How  should  I  know?'  were  delightful.  Af- 
ter all,  the  true  elle  is  said  to  be  Lady  E.  B ,  for  whom 

a  friend  of  mine  is  at  present  very  sick,  and  carving  her 
name  upon  every  tree  he  finds  in  the  country.     But  I  am 

not  qutie  sure  that  she  will  be  Lady  H ,  as  I  do  not  think 

that  the  swain  looks  much  in  love.f  We  had  much  waltzing, 
and  quadrilling,  the  last  of  which  is  certainly  very  abomina- 
ble. I  am  not  prude  enough  to  be  offended  with  waltzing,  in 
which  I  can  see  no  other  harm  than  that  it  disorders  the  sto- 
mach, and  sometimes  makes  people  look  very  ridiculous;  but 

after  all,  moralists,  with  the  Duchess  of  G at  their 

head,  who  never  had  a  moral  in  her  life,  exclaim  dreadful- 
ly against  it.     Nay,  I  am  told  that  these  magical  wheelings 

*  Mr.  S is  still  alive,  the  very  wreck  of  a  beau;  he  is  to  be 

seen  sometimes  like  a  fly,  half*  dead  and  stupified,  which  has  outlived 
the  summer. 

\  Perhaps  that  ball  at  B House  was  given  for  one  who  was  not 

permitted  to  attend  it. 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  63 

have  already  roused  poor  Lord  Dartmouth  from  his  grave 
to  suppress  them.  Alas!  after  all,  people  set  about  it  as 
gravely  as  a  company  of  dervises,  and  seem  to  pay  adora- 
tion to  Pluto  rather  than  to  Cupid.  But  the  quadrilles  I 
can  by  no  means  endure;  for  till  ladies  and  gentlemen  have 
joints  at  their  ancles,  which  is  impossible,  it  is  worse 
than  impudent  to  make  such  exhibitions,  more  particularly 
in  a  place  where  there  are  public  ballets  every  Tuesday 
and  Saturday.  When  people  dance  to  be  looked  at,  they 
surely  should  dance  to  perfection.  Even  the  Duchess  of 
Bedford,  who  is  the  Angiolini  of  the  group,  would  make 
an  indifferent  figurante  at  the  Opera;  and  the  principal 
male  dancer,  Mr.  North,  reminds  one  of  a  gibbeted  male- 
factor, moved  to  anil  fro  by  the  winds,  but  from  no  person- 
al exertion.  Since  I  had  the  honour  of  seeing  you  last,  I 
have  been  introduced  to  the  Princess  of  Wales,  and  have 
dined  several  times  at  Kensington.  Her  Royal  Highness 
has  been  very  good  to  me,  which  I  in  a  great  measure  at- 
tribute to  the  favourable  manner  in  which  you  had  men- 
tioned me  to  her.  One  night  we  went  through  all  the  up- 
per rooms  in  the  palace,  to  examine  the  pictures,  and  many 
seemed  excellent  in  their  way;  but  one  can  see  little  by  can- 
dle-light; and  there  was  a  sad  want  of  names, — which  takes 
away  all  the  pleasure  of  portraits.  The  Scotch  picture,  as 
an  altar  piece,  is  very  curious;  though  from  the  style  of 
painting,  I  guess  that  it  must  have  been  done  a  long  while 
after  the  death  of  the  persons  represented. 

Since  I  have  been  in  London  I  have  read  nothing  save 
Miss  Seward's  letters  and  Miss  Owenson's  Missionary.  Of 
Miss  Seward  I  am  bound  to  speak  well,  as  she  doth  so  of 
me;  and  her  monodies  are  beautiful;  but  the  letters  are 
naught;  they  abound  in  false  sentiment,  and  a  great  many 
other  false  things.  As  to  the  Missionary,  Ambrosio  is  his 
father  and  Matilde  his  mother;  but,"  wanting  the  indelicacy 
of  papa,  and  the  delicacy  of  mamma,  he's  a  dull  fellow. 
I  could  think  of  nothing  but  poor  Margaret  Stewart  of 
Blantyre,  and  her  presbyterian  minister,  while  I  read  this 
book.  Miss  Luxina  brought  her  hogs  to  a  bad  market,  for 
Ililarion  was  little  better  than  a  beast.  Walter  Scott's  last 
poem  I  have  also  seen,  but  so  hastily  that  I  can  be  no  com- 
petent judge  of  its  merits.  Talking  of  works,  allow  me 
to  recommend  to  you  Ford's  plays,  lately  re-published. 
Some  of  them  are  excellent;  the  first  in  the  series,  (which 
hath  an  awkward  name,  I  must  confess,)  and  the  Broken 
Heart  are  particularly  admirable.     I  am  sure  that  you  will 


64  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

be  struck  with  them;  for  Ford  is  almost  as  moving;  as  Ot- 
way  or  Lee,  who  is  the  mad  poet  I  adore,  yet  I  can  per- 
suade nobody  to  read  him.  The  History  of  the  Somerville 
family,  which  I  have  seen  in  MS.,  is  soon  to  be  printed, 
and  that  of  Sutherland  is  to  be  out  shortly.  So  much  for 
books — saving  that  Sir  John  Murray  hath  found  the  whole 
correspondence  of  the  Earl  of  Chesterfield,  who  flou- 
rished in  King  Charles  the  Second's  time,  in  Bath  House, 
containing  most  curious  letters  of  the  Duchess  of  Cleve- 
land, Lady  Southesk,  and  many  other  personages,  whom 
Count  Hamilton  has  rendered  so  interesting.  I  shall  try  to 
get  Sir  John  to  publish  them,  for  such  things  should  not  run 
the  risk  of  fire,  not  to  mention  rats  and  mice.  There  is  a 
sort  of  memoir  of  Lord  Chesterfield  at  the  beginning  of  the 
volume,  in  which  he  says  that  his  second  wife  died  of  the 
spotted  fever  or  plague;  but,  in  fact,  he  is  said  to  have  poi- 
soned her  in  the  wine  of  the  Sacrament,  to  be  revenged  for 
her  gallantries,  which  were  notorious:  that  old  villain,  Sir 
John  Denham,  having  shown  him  the  way,  by  getting  rid 
of  his  wife  after  a  fashion  nearly  similar.  I  have  written 
so  much  that  I  can  find  no  room  for  Mrs.  Dawson's  mas- 
querade, where  it  was  said  that  the  only  good  mask  was 
Mr.  Fit'/.harding  in  the  character  of  Lord  Berkeley;  nor 

Deerhurst's  marriage,  nor  Lady  0 's  adventure  with 

that  rogue  her  brother; — but  if  you  will  signify  to  me  that 
a  second  gazette  extraordinary  will  be  acceptable,  I  shall 

be  greatly  flattered.     Meanwhile  I  remain,  dear , 

"Your  faithful  servant." 

ANOTHER  LETTER  FROM  THE  SAME. 

"London,  Sunday 1811. 


"  You  flatter  me  greatly  by  desiring  a  second  number  of 
the  gazette  extraordinary,  which  I  hasten  to  transmit,  al- 
beit the  adventures  of  Lady  0 and  her  brother  are  now 

what  is  termed  in  Scotland,  Piper's  news.  But  before  I 
touch  seriously  upon  that  legend,  you  must  permit  me  to 
disclaim  all  title  to  the  knowledge  of  a  certain  art,  the  first 
rudiments  of  which  may  be  gathered  from  the  '  Academy 
of  Compliments '  and  'Walton's  Complete  Angler;'  in- 
deed, my  dear ,  I  never  was  accused  of  such  a  thing 

before;  nay,  I  have  been  told  by  many  persons  that  I  am 
too  innocent  of  the  sin,  and  that  my  fortunes  in  life  are  im- 
peded thereby;  and  I  verily  do  believe  it.  In  your  especial 
case,  however,  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  commit  this  crime. 


TiMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  65 

except  one  were  to  give  you  wings  at  once,  and — but  I  shall 
say  no  more  on  that  subject  for  fear  of  fresh  accusations; 
and  return  discreetly  to  my  news,  ancient  and  modern,  ac- 
cording to  the  tenor  of  the  permission  through  which  I  have 

the  honour  of  corresponding  with  you.     Lady  O ,  poor 

Lady  0 !  knows  the  rules  of  prudence,  I  fear  me,  as 

imperfectly  as  she  doth  those  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  gram- 
mars; for  she  hath  let  her  brother,  who  is  a  sad  swine,  be- 
come master  of  her  secrets,  and  then  contrived  to  quarrel 
with  him.    You  would  see  the  outline  of  the  melange  in  the 

newspapers,  but  not  the  report  that  Mr.  S is  about  to 

publish  a  pamphlet  as  an  addition  to  the  Harleian  Tracts, 
setting  forth  the  amatory  adventures  of  his  sister.  We 
shall  break  our  necks  in  haste  to  buy  it,  of  course  crying 

'  shameful '  all  the  while;  and  it  is  said  that  Lady  O r-  is 

to  be  cut,  which  I  cannot  entirely  believe.  Let  her  tell 
two  or  three  old  women  about  town  that  they  are  young  and 
handsome,  and  give  some  well-timed  parties,  and  she  may 
still  keep  the  society  which  she  hath  been  used  to.  The 
times  are  not  so  hard  as  they  once  were,  when  a  woman 
could  not  construe  Magna  Charta  with  any  thing  like  im- 
punity. People  were  full  as  gallant  many  years  ago,  but 
the  days  are  gone  by  wherein  my  Lord  Protector  of  the 
Commonwealth  of  England  was  wont  to  go  a  love-making 
to  Mrs.  Fleetwood  with  the  Bible  under  his  arm.  And  so 
Miss  Jacky  Gordon  is  really  clothed  with  a  husband  at  last, 
and  Miss  Laura  Manners  left  without  a  mate!  She  and 
Lord  Stair  should  marry  and  have  children  in  mere  re- 
venge. As  to  Miss  Gordon,  she's  a  Venus  well  suited  to 
such  a  Vulcan,  whom  nothing  but  money  and  a  title  could 
have  rendered  tolerable,  even  to  a  kitchen  wench.  It  is 
said  that  the  matrimonial  correspondence  between  this  cou- 
ple is  to  be  published — full  of  sad  and  scandalous  relations, 
of  which  you  may  be  sure  scarcely  one  word  is  true.     In 

former  times  the  Duchess  of  St.  A 's  made  use  of  these 

elegant  epistles  in  order  to  intimidate  Lady  Johnstone;  but 
that  ruse  would  not  avail,  so  in  spite,  they  are  to  be  print- 
ed. What  a  cargo  of  amiable  creatures! — Yet  will  some 
people  scarcely  believe  in  the  existence  of  Pandemonium! 
"Tuesday  morning. — You  are  perfectly  right  respecting 
the  hot  rooms  here,  which  we  all  cry  out  against,  and  all 
find  very  comfortable — much  more  so  than  the  cold  sands 
and  bleak  neighbourhood  of  the  sea — which  looks  vastly 
well  in  one  of  Vander  Velde's  pictures  hung  upon  crimson 

damask,  but  hideous  and  shocking  in  reality.     H and. 

6* 


66  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

his  Elle  (talking  of  parties)  were  last  night  at  Cholmonde- 
ley  House,  but  seem  not  to  ripen  in  their  love.  He  is  cer- 
tainly good-humoured,  and,  1  believe,  good -hearted,  so  de- 
serves a  good  wife;  but  his  caret  seems  a  genuine  London 
miss,  made  up  of  many  affectations.  Will  she  form  a  com- 
fortable helpmate?  For  me,  I  like  not  her  origin,  and  deem 
many  strange  things  to  run  in  blood,  besides  madness  and 
the  Hanoverian  evil. 

"Thursday. — I  verily  do  believe  that  I  never  shall  get 
to  the  end  of  this  small  sheet  of  paper,  so  many  unheard  of 
interruptions  have  I  had;  and  now  I  have  been  to  Vauxhall 

and  caught  the  tooth-ache.    I  was  of  Lady  E.  B m  and 

H 's  party, — very  dull;  the  lady  giving  us  all  a  supper 

after  our  promenade — 

'  Much  ado  was  there,  God  wot, 
She  would  love,  but  he  would  not:' 

He  ate  a  great  deal  of  ice,  though  he  did  not  seem  to  re- 
quire it;  and  she  "  faisoit  les  yeux  doux,"  enough  not  only 
to  have  melted  all  the  ice  which  he  swallowed,  but  his  own 
hard  heart  into  the  bargain.  The  thing  will  not  do.  In 
the  mean  time  Miss  Long  hath  become  quite  cruel  to  Wel- 
lesley  Pole,  and  divides  her  favour  equally  between  Lords 
Killeen  and  Kilworth,  two  as  simple  Irishmen  as  ever  gave 
birth  to  a  bull.  1  wish  to  Hymen  that  she  were  fairly  mar- 
ried, for  all  this  pother  gives  one  a  disgusting  picture  of  hu- 
man nature.  Avarice  in  children  is  shocking — yet  the 
united  schools  of  Eton  and  Westminster  are  gaping  after 
this  girl,  as  if  she  were  fairer  than  a  myriad  of  Venuses. 
Apropos,  I  have  discovered  a  Venus — a  Mrs.  Owen;  she  is 
beautiful,  but  she  looks  vulgar,  and  is  horridly  affected.  I 
think  that  the  Adonis  of  this  year  is  Grammont.  He  is 
handsomer  than  anybody,  and  1  know  three  fat  ladies  who 
are  expiring  through  the  love  they  bear  him.  Lady  Barba- 
ra Ashley  is  to  marry  him,  it  is  said;  and  now  admire,  my 

dear ,  the  strange  change  of  opinion  which  takes  place 

in  families!  Here  is  a  person  descended  from  a  precise 
Puritan,  and  the  trumper-up  of  the  popish  plot,  herself  a 
Papist,  and  about  to  marry  one.  The  Count  descends  pro- 
digiously to  wed  such  an  ill-born  mushroom;  but  she  has 
money  and  he  hath  not.  Here  is  another  change;  but  he 
has  much  more  excuse  for  what  he  does  than  Miss  Long's 
pack  of  truffle  hunters.  When  Miss  Porter's  Don  Sebas- 
tian came  out,  I  expected  to  find  the  Margravine,  Keppel 
Craven,  (with  whom  the  fair  authoress  was  in  love,)  and 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  6~ 

many  of  my  other  friends  there:  in  place  of  which  I  found 
nothing  but  such  heroes  and  heroines  as  might  have  been 
fashionable  and  common  formerly,  but  who  are  wonderfully 
out  of  date  and  rare  now;  so  that  circumstances  gave  me  a 
disgust  to  the  book.  As  to  my  own  romance,  which  you 
have  done  me  the  honour  of  accepting,  I  feel  such  prodi- 
gious qualms  about  its  publication,  that  I  scarcely  think 
it  will  ever  see  the  light.  When  it  is  quite  finished  you 
shall  have  it  in  your  power,  as  to  a  perusal.  The  subject 
is  certainly  good,  though  my  hero  was  a  sad  fool,  and  my 

heroine  (Lady  H.  W )  little  better  than  a  baggage;  but 

I  have  not  done  it  justice,  and  people  persuade  me  that 
these  melanges  of  truth  and  fiction  are  pernicious,  or  at 
least  worthless.     On  the  score  of  impropriety  you  will  find 

nothing  offensive;  and   the  moral  of  the  Duke  of  M 's 

life  is  excellent,  for  his  errors  poor  soul,  were  venial,  and 

his  punishment  most  exemplary.     Lady  H never  held 

up  her  head  alter  the  intelligence  of  his  death  reached  her; 
and  his  Duchess,  who  was  a  very  unfeeling  woman,  that 
breakfasted  on  cold  haggiss,  married  Lord  C ,  and  con- 
cluded her  career  very  comfortably.  And  here  it  is  time 
that  I  should  conclude  mine  for  the  present,  as  far  as  wri- 
ting goes — so,  with  ten  thousand  thanks  for  your  letter, 
which  I  dare  not  call  amusing,  lest  you  should  say  I  flatter, 
and  living  in  hopes  of  being  honoured  with  hearing  from 
you  again, 

"I  am,  Dear , 

"  Your  faithful  servant." 

FROM  H.  R.  H.  THE  PRINCESS  OF  WALES. 

"Wednesday, ,   1811, 

"  The  accounts  from  Windsor  certainly  have  been  very 
terrifying  for  a  few  days,  which  has  prevented  my  going 
since  a  week  to  the  opera, — but  the  accounts  are  now  very 
much  the  same  as  they  were  a  month  ago,  and  I  feel  no  ap- 
prehension that  it  will  be  worse,  nor,  I  fear,  better.  My 
mother  has  been  very  ill  indeed :  her  dinners  have  been  post- 
poned since  a  fortnight.  I  have  been  much  at  home,  and 
not  at  all  the  worse  for  having  seen  a  few  people  whom  I 
liked  the  best.     Mr.  Sharpe !  would  do  very  well  if  he  was 

•  If  her  Koyal  Highness  meant  Mr.  Charles  Kirkpatrick  Sharpe, 
and  had  banished  him  from  her  society,  she  would  have  lost  one  of 
the  most  amusing-  persons  in  the  world,  and  one  whose  wit  was  as 
harmless  as  it  was  light  and  bright. 


68  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

not  a  great  gossip;  and  there  are  days  and  times  that  it 
would  be  very  inconvenient  to  have  him  in  society. — The 
two  marriages  in  question  are  still  a  profound  secret,  and 
the  formal  proposals  are  not  yet  made,  of  which  I  am  cer- 
tain. All  parties  are  on  the  point  of  going  into  the  country, 
and  before   next  year  I  believe  nothing  will  be  settled. — 

Mr.  Macdonald  is  at  Mr.  E 's,  and  I  suppose  that  it 

will  be  arranged  soon.     Your  letter  is  safely  burnt,  and  a 

feu  de  joie  made  of  it,   my  dear .     When  the  royal 

visiters  left  me,  Louis  the  XVIIIth  could  only  offer  me  the 
gout  in  one  knee  and  in  one  toe,  and  Madame  D'  Angou- 
leme  a  swelled  face;*  so  that  I  have  not  been  blessed  with 
a  sight  of  these  charming  creatures.  Still  I  was  reduced 
to  (he  satisfaction  of  having  forty,  including  my  own  fa- 
mily, to  this  great  feast.  The  sight  was  not  enchanting, 
as  it  was  loaded  with  old  fograms.  My  usual  resource  on 
this  occasion  is  to  show  them  the  great  apartments  and  (he 
rarities  they  contain.!  At  last,  (every  thing,  alas!  ends,) 
we  were  obliged  to  take  to  another  resource,  which  was 
walking  in  the  great  avenue;  and  there  we  walked  with  all 
the  plebeians,  and  with  all  the  mobs.  As  our  conviviality 
was  exhausted  as  well  as  our  wit,  the  military  band  sup- 
plied the  sound  of  our  voices.  We  lounged  there  till  hap- 
pily the  clock  struck  eight,  and  then  the  party  was  swept 
away  like  magic. 

Lord  Hartington  gives  a  great  ball  at  Burlington  House, 
which  is  his  new  residence,  and  I  suspect  that  this  ball, 
which  was  given  quite  suddenly,  was  for  some  matrimonial 
reasons." 

ANOTHER  FROM  H.  R.  H.  TO  THE  SAME. 


"  I  have  lived  in  such  a  confusion  since  you  left  me, 
that  I  don't  know  whether  I  am   the  besieged  or  the  be- 

*  All  these  ailings  probably  befell  the  royal  family  of  France  at  the 
command  of  the  Prince  Regent  of  England. 

•j-  This  was  a  circumstance  which  her  Royal  Highness's  enemies 
laid  hold  of  to  turn  to  her  disadvantage,  and  the  newspapers  of  the 
day  found  great  fault  with  the  Princess  for  taking  her  guests  into 
those  apartments,  insinuated  that  they  were  the  scenes  of  improper 
conduct,  being  but  partially  lighted;  whereas  her  Royal  Highness 
only  took  her  c  nmany  there  when  she  had  no  other  means  of  en- 
tertaining them.  Thus  was  she  often  falsely  accused;  and,  unfor- 
tunately for  her   own  welfare,   (though  I  think  in  many  instancesj 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  69 

sieger.  Lady  Anne  and  I  began  by  receiving  an  ambas- 
sador, the  second  day  after  she  had  been  installed  into  all 
the  secrecy  of  our  nunnery.  He  was  sent  by  our  gracious 
Majesty;  in  short,  it  was  the  Vice- Chamberlain,  Colonel 
Desbrowe;  his  object  being  to  stop  my  going  to  Windsor, 
and  convey  a  refusal  to  my  request  of  having  my  daughter 
to  come  to  see  me  last  Saturday.  I  was  just  sitting  in 
Lady  Anne's  room,  opposite  to  the  sofa  on  which  she  was 
placed,  when  he  was  announced;  she  had  never  heard  of 
his  name,  and  supposed  that  he  was  a  young  and  fashion- 
able beau.  She  behaved  like  Joan  of  Arc  in  the  whole 
of  this  business;  was  immovable;  not  a  muscle  of  her  face 
altered  at  the  eloquent  speech  of  this  knight  errant.  I  de- 
sired him  to  write  it  down  on  paper,  to  refresh  my  memory 
now  and  then  with  it;  but  he  refused.  Lady  Anne  then 
took  her  pen,  and  in  the  presence  of  this  ambassador,  she 
conveyed  his  message  to  paper,  which  he  read  himself  be- 
fore he  left  the  room  and  took  his  departure.  I  think  this 
scene  will  make  a  pretty  figure  in  the  Morning  Chronicle 
or  in  the  Examiner;  but  I  leave  that  to  a  much  abler  pen 
than  mine. 

"  One  day  I  went  with  Lady  Anne  to  see  ,the  English 
■  St.  Cyr,'*  at  Lee,  where  I  met  Lady  Perceval.  I  think 
you  would  have  been  amused  for  a  moment,  with  hearing 
the  second  Miss  Grimani  sing;  she  is  one  of  the  govern- 
esses. Sapio  and  his  wife  also  sang  duetts  and  trios  with 
her,  and  I  was  much  gratified  by  the  exquisite  taste  and 
great  flexibility  of  voice  of  this  young  person. 

"  Poor  Lady  C is,   I  fear,  at  this  moment  in  great 

anxiety  and  tribulation,  as  she  has  been  absolutely  refused, 
under  any  condition,  to  have  the  house  at  Kensington. 
She  had  offered  to  take  upon  herself  all  the  repairs  and 
finishing,  that  it  might  prove  no  incumbrance  to  the  Board 
of  Works;  in  short  He  is  a  brute,  and  unqualified  to  be 
called  a  gentleman  through  his  behaviour,  this  Lord  Cham- 
berlain. And  now  I  must  tell  you  something  else — I  am 
so  accustomed,  my  dear  Lord,  to  disappointments  since 
my  childhood,  that  one  more  or  less  makes  not  much  effect 
upon  my  temper.  I  am  only  astonished  how  very  little 
chivalresque  feeling  is  remaining  in  this  country,  and  Mr. 
Drummond  certainly  shall  not  be  the  banker  to  George 

it  speaks  well  for  her  character,)  the  Princess  of  Wales  did  not  heed 
what  interpretation  her  enemies  put  on  her  actions. 

*  A  school  founded  by  and  under  the  protection  of  Lady  Anne 
Hamilton. 


70  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

l\ 'th"s  Queenj*  for  any  historian,  who  would  write  the  bi- 
ography of  the  ex-Princess  of  Wales,  would  not  a  little 
astonish  the  world,  in  relating  that  she  could  not  procure 
the  sum  of  .C500,  at  the  rate  of  paying  £500  a  year  per 
annum  for  it!!" 

LETTER    FROM    M.    G.    LEWIS,    ESQ. 

"  The  Albany,  November  10th. 


MY    DEAR 


"  Lord  Aberdeen  is  a  candidate  for  the  Presidentship  ol 
the  Anticpuarian  Society;  and  I  need  not  tell  you,  that  I  am 
extremely  anxious  to  promote  his  success,  and  entreat  you 
to  use  all  your  influence  in  obtaining  votes  for  his  support.! 

<kI  hear  that  Lady is  living  at  Constantinople 

with  young  B ,  avowedly  as  his  chereamie;  and  that 

she  says  nobody  was  ever  so  handsome,  nor  so  clever,  and 
that  he  is  in  short,  and  is  to  be,  one  of  the  first  characters 
in  these  kingdoms.  I  wish  him  joy  of  his  conquest,  and 
had  rather  he  than  I.% 

"I  send  you  some  verses  which  I  read  in  the  Examiner: 
I  think  them  very  witty,  although  very  abominable. 
"  Believe  me, 

"Most  truly  yours, 
"M.  G.  LEWIS.  ^' 

*  The  banking  house  of  Mr.  Drummond  refused  to  advance  the 
sum  of  £500  for  her  Royal  Highness.  The  reason  assigned  was,  its 
being  inconsistent  with  the  rule  of  their  house  to  obey  her  com- 
mands— but  one  might  have  supposed  that  an  exception  could  be 
made  in  favour  of  the  Princess  of  Wales,  especially  considering  the 
small  amount  of  the  sum. 

f  The  person  to  whom  this  letter  was  addressed,  canvassed  for  the 
two  competitors,  both  Lord  Aberdeen  and  Sir  Harry  Englefield,  with 
perfect  good  humour  and  bon-hommie,  not  being  aware  (from  a 
strange  confusion  and  ignorance  on  such  matters)  that  such  efforts 
must  of  necessity  be  rendered  nugatory  to  both  parties.  This  blun- 
der caused  much  laughter  at  the  time. 

t  If  ever  there  was  a  person  to  whom  the  Scotch  proverb  of '  Great 
cry  and  little  wool'  is  applicable,  it  was  so  to  Mr.  B .  He  be- 
gan his  career  as  a  spoilt  child,  he  pursued  it  as  a  spoilt  youth,  and, 
after  having  become  an  eastern  dandy,  returned  to  enact  the  part  of  a 
hero  in  a  Parisian  melo-drama.  Having  reached  London,  with  all  his 
honours  fresh  upon  his  head,  he  turned  the  heads  of  several  elderly 
ladies,  and  ended  his  public  career  by  marrying  a  widow  lady  with 

several  children.     Mr.  B would  have  been  a  very  harmless  and 

rather  ornamental  member  of  society  in  his  youth,  had  not  an  over- 
weening vanity  rendered  him  the  dupe  of  flattery  and  froth, 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  7\ 

"  The  Triumph  of  the  Whale. 
"Io!  Paean!  Io!  sing1, 
To  the  finny  people's  King! 
Not  a  mightier  whale  than  this, 
In  the  vast  Atlantic  is; 
Not  a  fatter  fish  than  he, 
Flounders  round  the  Polar  sea: 
See  his  blubber  at  his  gills, — 
What  a  world  of  drink  he  swills! 
From  his  trunk  as  from  a  spout, 
Which  next  moment  he  pours  out. 
Such  his  person — next  declare, 
Muse!  who  his  companions  are: 
Every  fish  of  generous  kind, 
Stands  aside  or  slinks  behind; 
But  about  his  presence  keep, 
All  the  monsters  of  the  deep: 
Mermaids  with  their  tails  and  singing, 
His  delighted  fancy  stinging: 
Crooked  dolphins,  they  surround  him, 
Dog-like  seals,  they  fawn  around  him: 
Following  hard,  the  progress  mark, 
Of  one  intolerant  salt  sea  shark; 
For  his  solace  and  relief, 
Flat  fish  are  his  courtiers  chief: 
Last  and  lowest  in  his  train, 
Tub  fish,  libellers  of  the  main, 
Their  black  liquor  shed  in  spite: 
Such  on  earth  the  thing  that  write. 
In  his  stomach  some  do  say, 
No  good  thing  can  ever  stay: 
Had  it  been  the  fortune  of  it, 
To  have  swallowed  that  old  prophet, 
Three  days  there  he'd  not  have  dwell'd, 
But  in  one  have  been  expell'd. 
Hapless  mariners  are  they, 
Who  beguiled,  as  seamen  say, 
Deeming  him  some  rock  or  island, 
Footing  sure,  safe  spot,  or  dry  land, 
Anchor  in  his  scaly  rind; 
Soon  the  difference  they  find: 
Sudden,  plump,  he  sinks  beneath  them, 
Does  to  ruthless  waxes  bequeath  them. 
Name  or  title,  what  has  he? 
Is  the  Regent  of  the  sea? 
From  that  difficulty  free  us, 
Buff  on,  Banks,  or  sage  Linnaeus: 
With  his  wondrous  attributes, 
Say  what  appellation  suits; 
By  his  hulk  and  by  his  size, 
By  his  oily  qualities. 
This,  (or  else  my  evesight  fails,) 
This  should  be  the' Prince  of  Whales." 


72  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

Who  is  there  that  may  not  be  caricatured,  when  the 
most  avowedly  graceful  man  of  his  time,  or  perhaps  of  any 
time,  can  thus  be  personally,  ridiculed?  And  who  is  there 
that  is  safe  from  the  bitter  tongue  of  scandal,  when  a  kind- 
ly hearted  monarch  is  represented  under  such  malignant 
and  dark  colours? 

To-day  I  went  to  see  Mrs.  Nugent.  She  is  more  like  a 
corpse  than  any  thing  can  be  that  is  not  one.  I  have  paid 
her  several  visits.  Her  conversation  is  sensible  and  com- 
posed. Whatever  scandal  may  have  formerly  said  against 
her  must,  I  conclude,  now  be  silenced;  though  I  believe, 
like  the  Gowls  in  the  Arabian  Nights,  it  ever  feeds  upon 
decayed  carcasses. 

I  see  strange  reports  in  the  papers  about  the  poor  Prin- 
cess. Turning  her  out  of  Kensington  Palace,  for  that  is  the 
true  meaning  of  procuring  her  another  domicile,  appears  to 
me  to  be  the  forerunner  of  new  troubles.  It  is  said  she  is 
to  be  sent  abroad.  How  can  that  be,  without  bringing  her 
to  public  disgrace?  It  is  farther  reported,  that  no  ministers 
will  be  accepted  by  the  Prince,  except  such  as  will  farther 
his  plans  respecting  the  Princess.  Now  is  the  time  when 
her  Royal  Highness  should  seek  for  the  protection  of  the 
greatest  of  the  land.  Talent  alone  is  not  sufficient  to  bear 
her  up  counter  to  the  tide  which  has  set  in  against  her. 
When  people  forsake  their  own  position — their  own  station 
in  life — to  cast  themselves  upon  the  aid  of  those  beneath 
them,  it  is  an  invariable  rule  that  they  fall  into  a  pit  from 
which  none  can  extricate  them.  The  latter  are  generally 
incompetent  to  judge  of  the  conduct  of  those  who  are  in  a 
totally  different  position  from  themselves.  There  is  nothing 
perhaps  so  difficult  as  to  place  one's  self  in  another's  iden- 
tity, in  any  circumstance  or  station  of  existence;  and  those 
who  attempt  this,  in  regard  to  Princes,  mu'st  be  very  honour- 
able persons  indeed,  not  to  be  swayed  in  their  judgment  by 
party,  by  prejudice,  or  by  self-interest.  No  royal  person 
ever  experienced  this  truth  more  fatally  than  the  unfortu- 
nate Princess  of  Wales.  She  was  alternately  under  the 
influence  of  all  these  contending  powers;  and  even  the  best 
of  her  Royal  Highness's  advisers,  those  who  were  honest 
and  honourable  in  their  intentions  towards  her,  were  not 
free  from  party  spirit — whilst  others  again  used  her  merely 
as  a  ladder  on  which  to  climb  to  power.  But  then,  it  must 
be  said  in  justice  to  those  who  tried  to  serve  her  and  failed, 
that  she  frequently  marred  their  endeavors  by  underhand 
confidences  to  persons  of  opposite  principles,  when  she  did 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE   THE  FOURTH.  73 

not  like  a  measure,  and  yet  did  not  dare  openly  to  run 
counter  to  it.  This  was  vexatious  to  those  who  really  were 
desirous  to  be  of  use  to  her,  and  failed  of  making  her  any 
stable  friends  with  any  set  of  political  men. 

The  tissue  of  all  human  character  is  more  or  less  uneven, 
but  I  never  knew  greater  inequality  than  in  that  of  this  very 
extraordinary  woman.  Posterity  will  never  do  justice  to 
her  memory— for,  as  in  most  cases,  the  bad  and  inferior 
parts  of  her  character  were  tangible  and  prominent  to  the 
observation,  tvbiJe  those  alone  who  lived  in  her  intimate  so- 
ciety, knew  of  the  many  good  and  great  ingredients  which 
formed  a  part  of  the  heterogeneous  mixture.  A  friend  of 
the  Prince,  one  wht>  leant  with  steady  affection  to  his  Ro- 
yal Highness's  interests,  said  to  me  the  other  day,  "The 
Princess  has  behaved  towards  me  with  a  candour  and  good 
nature  that  do  her  honour;"  (alluding  to  that  person's  never 
having  waited  upon  her,  for  fear  of  offending  the  Prince;) 
"  few  royal  persons  are  sufficiently  liberal  to  set  down  a 
seeming  omissiomof  duty,  even  of  the  most  trifling  nature, 
to  its  true  cause,  when  no  disrespect  is  intended."  It 
ought  to  be  recorded  to  the  honour  of  the  Princess,  that  un- 
til she  was  goaded  to  madness,  sin-  never  felt  any  hatred 
against  the  Prince's  friends,  as  such; — only  against  persons 
who  had  been  her  adherents,  and  turned  from  her  to  bow 
the  knee  to  Baal,  did  she  show  any  resentment. 

Returned  to  town — was  invited  to  sup  at  Kensington — 
a  very  agreeable  party,  but,  unfortunately,  the  Princess 
prolonged  her  pleasures  till  they  became  pains.  No  appe- 
tite for  converse,  no  strength  of  nerves,  no  love  for  any  in- 
dividual who  might  be  present,  could  possible  enable  anv 
person,  who  was  not  royal,  (they  certainly  are  gifted  with 
supernatural  strength,)  to  sit  for  five  or  six  hours  attable, 
and  keep  vigil  till  morning  light.  Some  one,  I  remember, 
present  that  night,  ventured  to  hint  that  morning  was  at 
hand.  "Ah!"  said  the  Princess,  "  God,  he  knows  when 
we  may  all  meet  again — to  tell  you  God's  truth,  when  I  am 
happy  and  comfortable,  I  could  sit  on  for  ever." 

There  was  heaviness  in  her  mirth,  and  every  body  seemed 
to  feel  it,  so  they  sat  on.  At  hast  we  rose  from  table;  many 
of  the  guests  went  away;  some  few  lingered  in  the  drawing 
room,  amongst  whom  I  was  one.  I  was  left  the  last  of  all. 
Scarcely  had  Sir  H.  Englefield,  Sir  William  Gell.and  Mr. 
Craven  reached  the  ante-room,  when  a  long  and  protracted 
roll  of  thunder  echoed  all  around, .and  shook  the  palace  to 

vol.  i.  7 


74  MK.MOIHS  OF  THE 

its  very  foundations;  a  bright  light  shone  into  the  room — 
brighter  than  the  beams  of  the  sun;  a  violent  hissing  noise 
followed,  and  some  ball  of  electric  fluid,  very  like  that 
which  is  represented  on  the  stage,  seemed  to  fall  close  to 
the  window  where  we  were  standing.  Scarcely  had  we 
recovered  the  shock,  when  all  the  gentlemen  who  had  gone 
out,  returned,  and  Sir  II.  Englefield  informed  us,  that  the 
centinel  at  the  door  was  knocked  down,  a  great  portion  of 
the  gravel  walk  torn  up,  and  every  servant  and  so!dier 
were  terrified.  "Ah!"  said  the  Princess,  undismayed  but 
solemnly — "this  forbodes  my  downfall,"  and  she  shook 
her  head;  then  rallying,  she  desired  Sir  H.  Englefield  to 
take  especial  notice  of  this  meteoric  phenomenon,  and  give 
an  account  of  it  in  the  Philosophical  Transactions; — which, 
he  did. 

I  learnt  the  next  day  that  three  new  mad  doctors  had 
been  called  in  to  the  poor  King:  Monro,  Symons,  and  J. 
Willis.  Heberden  was  dismissed,  and  is  to  see  him  no 
more.  It  is  settled,  that  a  new  plan  is  to  be  adopted: — as 
all  the  physicians  now  allow  that  the  King's  mind  is  quite 
gone,  he  is  to  be  left  to  himself,  except  at  moments  of  vio- 
lence,— no  longer  to  be  tormented  with  medicine  or  ques- 
tions, &c.  &c,  and  oidy  attended  by  the  doctors  who  pro- 
fess to  treat  insane  persons,  and  by  one  regular  physician. 
By  all  this  it  appears  certain,  that  at  the  expiration  of  the 
year  at  latest,  that  is  to  say,  in  the  course  of  next  Febru- 
ary, all  restrictions  will  be  taken  off  the  Prince  Regent. 
and  he  will  act  as  King.  What  is  to  follow,  time  only  can 
show. 

Heard  to-day  of  the  marriage  of  Mrs.  Bouverie,  which 
event  has  given  rise  to  a  great  deal  of  wit.  They  say  that 
in  her  youth  she  wore  a  cloak,  and  in  her  old  age  a  Spencer, 

The  Princess  communicated  to  me  a  letter  from  Mr.. 
Brougham.  It  is  very  like  a  conjurer's  hocus  pocus;  for  I 
defy  any  one,  and  certainly  her  Royal  Highness,  to  under- 
stand distinctly  what  it  means.  It  is  a  very  ingenious  mys- 
tification, however. 

COPY  OF  MR.  BROUGHAM'S  NOTE. 

"  1  have  seen  Lord  Grey,  and  Lord  Lansdowne,  and 
others.  The  Prince  did  not  propose  to  Lord  Wellesley 
any  thing  about  seeing  or  speaking  to  the  opposition;  buc 
Lord  Wellesley  proposed  it,  and  the  Prince  did  not  object. 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  75 

Lord  W.  saw  Lord  G.  yesterday,  and  to-day  he  saw  Lord 
Y.  and  Lord  Grenville — and  then  Ire  saw  Lord  Moira  and 
others.  He  has  proposed  several  principles,  in  which  he 
thinks  they  may  all  agree: — the  Catholic  question,  and  the 
war  in  Spain.  Nothing  ha*  been  proposed  in  the  order  in 
council;  which  is  the  chief  difficulty  in  the  opinion  of  many. 
As  yet,  nothing  is  fixed,  nor  has  any  mention  been  made  as 
to  arrangements  of  the  offices;  they  are  only  negotiating  to 
try  to  come  to  an  understanding  upon  principles.  If  they 
succeed  in  that,  the  rest  will  be  quite  easy,  as  far  as  relates 
to  them;  and  I  fancy  Lord  Grey  will  be  minister;  and  the 
Prince  reserves  to  himself  to  agree  to  or  refuse  the  project 
they  may  finally  submit  to  him.  The  thing  is  still  going 
on,  and  they  seem  to  think  Lord  Wellesley  has  completely 
quarretled  with  the  old  cabinet — with  some  (Lords  Buthurst 
and  Harrowby)  irreconcileably.  I  never  believe  in  such 
irreconcileable  quarrels.  The  opposition  (with  a  few  ex- 
ceptions) are  all  against,  their  coming  into  office,  and  I  am 
sure  Whitbrcad,  Coke,  &c,  will  be  decidedly  so." 

About  this  time  there  was  a  talk  of  publishing  some  state- 
ment of  facts,  in  favour  of  the  Princess,  which  was  either 
got  up  by  Brougham  or  some  of  the  party,  but  which  they 
chose  to  envelop  in  a  sort  of  mystery; — whether  or  not  to 
deceive  the  Princess,  or  whether  to  serve  her  or  themselves 
and  their  party,  I  never  could  understand.  Her  Royal 
Highness  showed  me  the  following  sentence  in  a  note  of  Mr. 
Brougham's  concerning  them. 

(Copy.) — "The  papers  have  been  sent  to  me  by  a  mys- 
terious personage,  with  the  view  to  publication.  I  have 
fully  considered  the  subject,  and  have  written  a  cautious 
answer,  which  has  not  been  called  for,  though  I  have  twice 
advertised  in  the  newspaper,  as  directed  by  the  stranger. 
I  had  intended  to  send  a  copy  of  my  answer,  but  it  is 
scarcely  worth  while;  the  substance  is  strongly  to  advise 
publication,  but  accompanied  with  a  proper  narrative,  which 
I  have  engaged  a  most  unexceptionable  person  to  write  as 
soon  as  required,  namely,  Mr.  Hunt."* 

^Yhile  Mr.  Brougham"  was  thus  busily  engaged,  as  it  ap- 

•  Doctors  differ,  and  so  do  other  people,  in  their  estimation  of  pro- 
per and  improper.     Some  have  ventured  to  think  that  Mr.  Hunt  was 
< tv  reverse,  as  an  agent  for  the  Princess  of  Wales. 


76  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

pearecl,  in  procuring  or  buying  up  papers,  supposed  to  be  in 
favour  of  her  Royal  Highness,  she  herself  was  equally  busy 
on  her  part  in  a  similar  scheme;  but  by  all  1  ever  could 
make  out,  it  was  kept  a  profound  secret  from  Mr.  Brough- 
am. 

FROM  MR.  M.  G.  LF.WIS. 

"The  Albany,  Nov.  20th. 
"  MY   DEAR  , 

"In  the  first  place  you  must  understand,  that  1  have 
been  all  my  life  the  most  careful  person  in  the  world  re- 
specting letters,  and  that  the  late  instances  of  the  Duke  of 
York  and  Lord  Folkestone  have  by  no  means  operated  to 
produce  an  abatement  of  caution.  London  is  still  very 
empty,  and  there  is  nothing  to  be  clone  except  going  to  the 
play.  Luckily  that  is  one  of  my  favourite  amusements; 
and  still  more  luckily,  the  few  people  who  are  in  town  seem 
to  be  of  the  same  opinion;  so  that,  whenever  there  is  any 
thing  worth  going  to  see,  a  couple  of  boxes  are  taken,  in 
which  Lady  Le  Despencer  and  her  daughters  Lady  de  Ros, 
Lady  Perceval,  and  all  the  men  they  can  pick  up,  establish 
themselves,  and  we  generally  sup  at  Lady  Le  Despencer's 
afterwards.  I  have  neither  seen  nor  heard  any  thing  of  the 
Princess,  since  she  removed  to  Blackheath,  except  a  report 
that  she  is  in  future  to  reside  at  Hampton  Court,  because 
the  Princess  Charlotte  wants  the  apartments  at  Kensington; 
but  I  cannot  believe  that  the  young  Princess,  who  has  been 
always  described  to  me  as  so  partial  to  her  mother,  would 
endure  to  turn  her  out  of  her  apartment,  or  suffer  it  to  be 
done.  I  have  also  been  positively  assured,  that  the  Prince 
has  announced  that  the  first  exertion  of  his  power  will  be 
to  decide  the  fate  of  the  Princess:  and  that  Perceval,  even 
though  he  demurred  at  endeavouring  to  bring  about  a  di- 
vorce, gave  it  to  be  understood  that  he  should  have  no  ob- 
jection to  her  being  excluded  from  the  coronation  and  exiled 
to  Holyrood  House.*     However,  I  only  give  you  these  as 

•  I  am  confident,  that  such  a  course  would  never  have  been  adopt- 
ed by  Mr.  Perceval.  He  was  not  a  man  to  lend  himself  to  any  mea- 
sures which  were  not  strictly  consonant  with  open,  upright  honour. 
Had  he  been  convinced  of  the  Princess's  guilt,  lie  would  not  have 
upheld  her,  or  professed  himself  her  friend,  while  in  secret  he  joined. 
in  the  party  against  her. 


TIMES   OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  71 

reports,  for  which  I  know  no  foundation,  and  sincerely  hope 
that  there  is  none  of  a  solid  nature.  While  on  the  subject 
of  royalties,  I  may  as  well  tell  you  an  anecdote,  which, 
whether  true  or  false,  has  amused  me  very  much.     They 

say,  that  when  the  Duke  of  C deputed  Mrs.  F n 

to  make  his  proposals  of  marriage  to  Miss  L — ng,  she  went 

to  her  and  stated  very  gravely  that  the  Duke  of  C was 

willing  to  part  with  Mrs.  J n,  and  give  her  place  in  his 

affections   to   Miss  L ;  on  which  the  poor  little  girl 

thought  that  she  was  intended  to  officiate  in  the  same  capa- 
city with  her  predecessor:  so  she  fell  a  crying,  and  called 
the  unlucky  ambassadress  all  the  bad  names  that  she  could 
think  of. 

"Donald  Macdonald  called  on  me  a  few  days  ago,  to 
tell  me  that  his  brother's  marriage  with  Lady  Caroline 
Edgcumbe  is  finally  settled,  and  will  take  place  with  all 
possible  expedition.  I  am  heartily  glad  of  it.  Sir  John 
Sinclair  (the  Duchess  of  Gordon's  grandson)  is  going  to  be 
married  to  the  daughter  of  Admiral  de  Courcy.  Lady  Ox- 
ford .is  returned  to  town  to  lie  in;  somebody  said  (in  allu- 
sion to  the  old  joke  about  the  Harleian  Miscellany)  that  to 
judge  by  her  size,  t'lis  production  would  be  a  very  volumi- 
nous work  indeed.  I  have  not  yet  seen  her  myself,  but  I 
hear  that  she  is  looking  extremely  ill,  is  in  very  low  spirits, 
and  in  short  is  evidently  quite  chap-fallen. 

"You  say,  '  I  wonder  what  you  think  of  Trotters  Life 
of  Fox?' — Now  I  wonder  that,  supposing  I  had  only  read 
two  paragraphs,  you  could  have  any  doubt  of  what  I  must 
think;  and  Mi!!  mere  I  should  wonder,  if  supposing  that  I 
had  read  the  paragraphs,  you  should  imagine  it  possible  for 
me  to  read  two  more.  I  contented  myself  with  the  extracts 
in  the  newspapers,  which  were  quite  numerous  enough  to  sa- 
tisfy my  curiosity,  and  prevent  my  wishing  to  see  any  more 
of  the  work.  The  Author  was  a  person  merely  taken  into 
Fox's  family  because  he  was  a  relation  of  the  widow  of  the 
Bishop  of  Down,  who  was  Fox's  tutor;  and  he  was  only 
employed  (as  I  understand)  in  making  extracts  from  diffe- 
rent works  at  Paris,  which  contained  matters  connected 
with  Fox's  projected  History.  This  man  has  since  thought 
himself  not  sufficiently  taken  notice  of,  nor  provided  for 
by  his  patrons,  relations,  and  friends,  and  he  is  therefore 
supposed  to  have  published  these  memoirs  with  the  bene- 
volent intention  of  vexing  them.     The  work  is  evidently 

.7* 


T8  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

the  production  of  a  disappointed  man.  His  late  dispute 
with  the  physicians,  respecting  his  charge  of  their  having 
accelerated  Fox's  death  by  the  use  of  digitalis,  is  sufficient 
to  show  how  little  he  is  to  be  relied  upon  for  accuracy;  and 
as  to  his  style,  it  is  the  most  inflated  bombastic  manner  of 
writing  that  ever  yet  came  in  my  way,  and  would  be  much 
better  adapted  to  •  the  sorrows  of  Lady  Henrietta  Heart- 
broke,  being  the  first  literary  attempt  of  a  young  lady.' 
Lord  Holland  is  so  much  offended,  both  at  the  manner  and 
matter  of  the  work,  that  he  will  not  suffer  it  to  occupy  a 
place  in  Ins  library,  where  even  my  trash  finds  room. 

"  I  have  heard  of  nothing  good  in  the  literary  way;  but 
I  read'  three  volumes  yesterday  of  the  strangest,  dullest, 
and  most  incomprehensible  trash  imaginable,  two  or  three 
passages  in  which  made  me  laugh  above  measure,  owing 
solely  (I  verily  believe)  to  the  writer's  being  half  a  fool, 
and  half  a  mad  woman.  It  is  the  life  of  Mrs.  Wells,  a  ci- 
devant  actress;  in  which,  among  other  things,  she  proves 
that  the  Duke  of has  given  himself  a  Vast  deal  of  un- 
necessary trouble;  a  thing  of  which  I  never  should  have 
>uspected  him.  It  seems  that  when  a  person  is  married 
already,  and  wants  to  many  somebody  else,  nothing  in  the 
world  is  necessary  but  the  simplest  and  easiest  thing  pos- 
sible: he  has  nothing  upon  earth  to  do  but  to  turn  Jew! 
This  is  what  Mrs.  Wells  did  with  the  greatest  success;  and 
she  always  takes  care  not  to  confound  her  personages  toge- 
ther. There  is  '  her  first  husband;'  and  then  there  is  •  her 
second  husband;'  and  then  again  there  is  '  the  father  of  her 
children;*  and  I  assure  you,  of  all  the  distinctions  I  ever 
met  with,  these  different  distinctions  are  made  out  the  clear- 
est. As  she  was  always  in  debt,  she  inveighs  bitterly  against 
the  power  of  arrest;  and  prays  devoutly,  that  the  earth  may 
open  and  swallow  all  the  lock-up  houses.  And  she  says 
that  being  at  Hasting's  trial,  a  citizen's  wife,  who  had  looked 
at  her,  indolently  begged  her  to  lend  her  the  newspaper;  on 
which,  says  Mrs.  Wells,  I  said,  loud  enough  for  every  body 
to  hear  me,  '  1*11  see  you  at  the  devil  first.'  Every  eye  was 
instantly  fixed  on  the  citizen's  wife;  she  sank  into  her  ori- 
ginal littleness,  and  hastily  quitted  a  society  where  she  had 
made  herself  so  ridiculous!! — Addio. 

"Ever  yours, 

'"M.G.LEWIS." 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  79 

Sunday,  February  23rd,  1812.— The  Princess  Charlotte 
was  at  the  opera  last  night  for  the  first  time,  and  much  de- 
lighted, as  it  seemed.  She  leant  over  the  box  and  bowed 
to  every  person  she  knew.  I  could  not  learn  if  she  was 
applauded  or  not.  She  went  with  the  Duchess  of  York, 
Lord  de  Clifford,  and  Bloomfield  to  attend  her.  Someone 
of  her  royal  uncles,  and  Erskine,  were  I  understand  in  the 
box. 

EXTRACT  FROM  A  LETTER. 

Dated  "Saturday,  11th  May,  1812. 
'•  I  was  actually  going  to  write  to  you  about  this  said  in- 
solent drawing-room j  for  such  it  is,  and  will  help,  I  think, 
much  to 'raise  commencing  indignation !  but,  for  heaven's 
sake,  let  any  who  may,  advise  the  Princess  to  remain 
where  she  is,  and  not  stir  hand  or  foot  for  herself,  but  leave 
that  to  others,  and  be  assured  "qu'il  s'en  presentera."  I 
have  heard,  and  in  a  way  that  makes  me  give  some  credit 
to  it,  that  a  man  unconnected  with  opposition,  who  wishes 
to  come  forward  and  be  talked  of,  rich  and  independent,  is 
in  possession  of  a  copy  of  The  Book,  and  that  he  means  to 
purchase  a  seat,  for  the  purpose  of  laying  this  book  before 
Parliament — to  the  dismay  and  confusion  of  Perceval  and 
others  of  his  followers,"  &c. 

I  here,  that  in  consequence  of  the  Princess  having  gone 
to  Windsor  to  see  her  daughter,  a  message  was  sent  to  her 
from  the  llVgent  by  Lord  Liverpool,  to  desire  her  not  to 
go  there  again.  Her  reply  was,  that  if  she  saw  the  Prin- 
cess Charlotte  as  usual,  once  a  week,  she  would  obey; 
but  if  not,  she  thought  her  duty  in  respect  to  her  child 
was  paramount  to  all  others.  The  Princess  Charlotte  has 
not  come  to  her,  and  the  Princess  of  Wales,  is  determined 
to  go  again  to  Windsor.  Her  Royal  Highness  knows  she 
will  be  refused  seeing  her  daughter,  but  wishes  to  have  the 
refusal  in  black  and  white;  and  also  to  be  able  to  say  that 
she  did  all  in  her  power  to  prove  her  love  for  Princess 
Charlotte.* 

*  This  conduct  would  have  been  natural  and  praiseworthy,  had  ge- 
nuine affection  for  her  child  been  the  real  motive;  but  it  was  too  evi- 
dently pique  and  a  revenge  for  self-indignities,  which  instigated  this 
undignified  mode  of  showing  her  displeasure.     More  patience  and 


80  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


EXTRACT  FROM  A  LETTER. 

"  What  you  have  the  goodness  to  ask  as  a  favour,  my 

dfear ,  1  need  not  say  I  look  upon  as  an  honour;  and  I 

have  finished  two  daubs,  which  I  shall  take  the  earliest  pri- 
vate opportunity  of  sending  to  you.  The  one  is  Queen 
Elizabeth  dancing,  the  other  Louis  XIV.  and  the  Duchesse 
de  la  Valliere.  Whichever  of  these  unworthy  performan- 
ces you  deem  best,  pray  retain  for  yourself;  for  though  the 
Princess  Charlotte  is  certainly  a  great  personage,  and  a 
budding  queen,  and  one  may  give  oneself  great  airs  on 
having  done  a  drawing  for  her,  yet  I  am  a  Jacobite  and  a 
Scotchman; — so  I  would  rather  have  the  best  of  my  poor  ef- 
forts in  the  possession  of  yourself,  than  in  that  of  the  Princess 
Charlotte  of  Wales.  Ever  since  I  have  possessed  eyes  and 
ears,  1  have  known  how  to  appreciate  the  honours  done  me 
by  the  former.  Things  have  gone  on  rather  stupidly,  1 
think,  since  you  left  Edinburgh.  There  have  been  some 
parties,  where  people  pretended  to  waltz  and  imagined  they 
were  singing.  Indeed,  not  to  be  above  one's  trade,  with 
some  exceptions,  this  city  containeth  few  pretty,  well 
dressed  women,  and  a  number  of  Anthropophagi,  and  men 
whose  heads 

4  Do  grow  beneath  their  shoulders.' 

'•  I  had  the  honour  of  being  at  Lady  C 's  one  even- 
ing lately,  and  saw  some  French  country  dances.     I  wish 

that  you  and  Miss  C had  seen  them  also:  there  was 

every   step  of  a  dancing  duck,   and   the  line  of   beauty 

formed  the  wrong  way.     Pray  tell  Miss  C that  the 

principal  Vestris  was  her  humble  admirer  Charles  C , 

figuring  with  a  new  French  (I  presume)  head,  his  hair  being 
peaked  up  like  Corporal  Trim's  Montero  cap,  or  some  of 
the  foretops  in  Captain  Cook's  Voyages: — with  his  head- 
sear,  and  holding  his  legs  like  a  frog  swimming,  he  was 
enough  to  kill  one  with  laughing; — and  he  never  could  have 
his  fill  of  it — for  when  any  poor  Miss  fell  piping  hot  upon 

forbearance,  on  this  as  on  many  other  occasions,  would  have  given 
her  a  better  chance  of  carrying  her  point;  but  if  ever  woman  was 
goaded  to  intemperate  display  of  passion,  the  Princess  was  that  wo- 
man. 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  81 

licr  chair,  out  of  the  ring,  he  always  handed  her  up  again, 
with  a  kick-out  of  his  heels  that  beggars  all  description. 

"  I  saw  Dr.   A.  R there,  in  very  good  health,  but 

still  busy  with  the  measled  children  in  George's  Square. 
His  brother,  an  officer  in  the  92d,  is  a  xery  descendant  of 
Adonis,  and  all  the  pelisses  in  Princes  Street  are  in  love 
with  him.    However,  'tis  said  he  confines  himself  entirely  to 

Miss  G ,  a  lady  rich  in  money  and  a  hump,  to  which  I  fear 

Adolphus  will  never  find  a  discussing  plaster — for  it  ap- 
pears to  be  a  mighty  obstinate  tumour.  She  does  not  care 
so  very  much  for  good  looks — but  she  is  extremely  fond  of 
laurels,  and  R was  at***j  so  she  will  wear  his  gar- 
lands upon  her  shoulders  *  *  *;  while  he  will  find  her  money 
a  much  more  comfortable  and  substantial  thing  than  a  night 
cap  of  green  leaves. 

I  saw  Mr.  C here  the  other  day.     He  is,  I  think, 

grown  fat,  and  has  always  more  light  in  his  face  than  any 
body:  but  I  wish  he  were  away  from  this  odious  town, — I 
mean  odious  with  respect  to  young  men  of  fortune, and  indeed 
to  young  men  of  any  sort:  for  I  am  old  fashioned,  I  confess, 
in  many  points,  and  deem  this  place  a  very  poison  to  the 
youthful  soul.  In  London, young  lad.-  are  dissipated  enough, 
and  thoughtless;  but  I  never  found  them  set  up,  as  they 
universally  do  here,  for  atheistic  professors  of  every  thing 
foolish  and  impious.  David  Hume  has  left  that  legacy  to 
his  unfortunate  countrymen;  his  ill  grounded  reputation 
dazzles  our  college  and  our  bar:  and  1  actually  believe  that 
there  is  not  one  Christian,  1  had  almost  said  Theist, on  the 
benches  of  our  lecture-rooms,  or  on  the  boards  of  our  Par- 
liament-House. 

"Apropos,  our  ladies  are  greatly  shocked  with  the  free 
use  of  scriptural  phrases  in  the  *  *****,  and  \qy\  angry 
with  the  author  on  that  account.  For  my  part,  as  I  have 
iead  a  great  many  of  the  old  Presbyterian  sermons,  [  do 
not  see  those  passages  in  so  atrocious  a  light;  for  they  are 
nothing  to  the  wonderful  things  one  meets  with  in  the  effu- 
sions ofPeden  and  Carglll;  whose  favourite  scriptural  book 
appears  to  have  been  the  Song  of  Solomon: — which  son<^, 
by  the  way,  1  lately  found  in  MS.  in  the  Advocates'  Li- 
brary, translated  into  rhyme  by  Mistress  Barbara  Macky, 
and  humbly  dedicated  to  that  most  noble  lady  the  Countess 
of  Caithness,  daughter  to  that  thrice  worthy  marcpiess,  my 
Lord  Marquess  of  Argyll.     And  a  conscientious  translator 


#2  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

Mistress  Barbara  was;  for  she  leaves  not  out  one  word  of 
her  original; — but  her  fidelity  is  superior  to  her  metre  by 
many  degrees.  The  Countess  to  whom  she  dedicates  was 
twice  married;  first  to  Lord  Caithness,  and  then  to  Lord 
Breadalbane.  Her  picture,  extremely  pretty,  is  at  Holy- 
rood  House. 

"  Talking  of  pictures,  poor  B.  H.  has  got  such  a  cold  (I 

suppose  by  sitting  to  T as  Venus)  that  she  coughs  the 

castle  rocks  into  ten  thousand  echoes,  and  rouses  the  92d 
there  every  fiv-e  minutes  with  the  trumpet  of  her  nose.     I 

never  saw  her  in  so  sad  a  condition     Nut  so  Lady  C 1, 

who  is  going  to  many  Mr.  B s  forthwith*,  and  seems 

very  comfortable  on  the  prospect.     However,  she  will  not 

have  the  satisfaction  of  carrying  on  the  S family;  for 

it  appears  that  Mr.  B hath  a  son— an  unlicked  lad; 

and  1  was  told  that,  the  other  evening  B 's  old  nurse 

(who  always  lives  with  him)  and  his  landlady,  looking  out 
of  the  back  windows  by  moonlight,  beheld  "master  salute 
the  house-maid  as  they  met  in  the  cabbage  garden;  on 
which  the  two  indignant  Lucretias  sallied  down  stairs,  and 
fell  each  upon  her  own  property,  with  blows  as  well  as 
words — and  a  dreadful  scene  there  was!  Nothing  like  the 
uproar  hath  been  heard  thereabouts,  since  the  murder  of 
David  Rixzio.  They  had  all  been  vevy  nearly  seized  by 
the  police.     What  became  of  the  nymphs  I  know  not;  but 

Master  B is  transmitted   to  the  birch  of  the  minister 

at  Aberlady,  there  to  mortify  in  sackcloth  and   sea-coal 

ashes.     If  I  did   not  know   your  goodness,  dear ,  I 

should  beg  ten  thousand  pardons  for  all  this  stuff;  but  as 
it  is,  offering  my  very  best  wishes  and  respect, 

"  I  rest  your  ever  obliged,"  &c. 

Monday. — I  was  shown  to-day  some  verses  bv  an  ac- 
complished man,  which  made  me  wish  to  be  a  free  agent, 
and  to  visit  the  scenes  which  he  describes  so  well.     Mr. 

K.  C n  addressed  them  to  a  lady,  a  friend  of  mine. 

Mr.  K.  C n  was  one  of  her  Royal" Highness  the  Prin- 
cess of  Wales's  most  intimate  friends,  and  she  valued  his 
acquaintance.  A  mind  that  was  capable  of  appreciating 
such  characters  and  talents  as  his,  could  not  itself  be  de- 
void of  taste  and  delicacy. 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  85 


Dated  '« Scio,  March,  1812. 


"Think  not,  fair  lady,  though  in  foreign  clime, 
'Midst  isles  remote,  a  wanderer  still  I  roam, 
That  length  of  travel,  or  that  lapse  of  time, 
Hath  banished  every  thought  of  distant  home; 

"  That  home  where  all  my  old  attachments  dwell, 
Where  infant  hope  and  young  emotions  grew, 
Where  breathe  the  valued  friends  I  love  so  well, 
Warm  in  affection,  though  in  number  few. 

"  Then,  lady,  wonder  not  that  when  I  view'd 

The  lines  you  traced,  my  cheek  with  pleasure  glow'd; 
Nor  deem  it  strange  that  thus  my  gratitude 

Should  own  the  comfort  which  those  lines  bestow'd. 

11  Oh!  they  were  doubly  welcome  at  that  hour, 
When  solitude  and  sickness  were  my  lot; 
They  prov'd  by  words  of  soft  persuasive  power 
That,  though  far  distant,  1  was  not  forgot. 

"  They  sooth'd  my  sadness,  and  I  learnt  awhile 
The  transient  evils  of  this  life  to  bear 
With  patience,  as  1  saw  great  Nature  smile 
Upon  the  island  she  has  made  so  fair. 

"In  truth,  this  isle  is  beauteous  to  behold, 
Well  worthy  of  the  ancient  poet's  choice, 
Who  here  had*  fixed  his  seat  in  times  of  old, 
And  taught  its  shore  the  echo  of  his  voice. 

"  In  yonder  bay,  which  no  rude  storms  invade, 

Where,  hush'd  in  calm,  the  billows  seem  to  sleep, 
Two  Plantain  trees  extend  their  leafy  shade, 
Above  a  spring  that  mingles  with  the  deep. 

"There,  on  a  rock  clad  with  luxuriant  vine, 
The  Chian  youths  in  eager  number  throng, 
To  learn  the  precepts  of  the  man  divine, 
Or  hear  the  wonders  of  his  epic  song. 


84  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

"  Mark  you  the  woody  crags  that  crown  the  wave, 
The  olive  groves  spread  o'er  the  Lesbian  plain' 
Alcxus  there  to  verse  new  measure  gave, 

And  Sappho  sang,  and  loved,  and  wept  in  vain. 


"Far  happier  he  whom  Teos  called  her  own, 

The  bard  who  drank  and  laughed  long  life  away 
Who  scatter'd  roses  round  a  tyrant's  throne, 
And  lighten'd  with  his  song  oppression's  sway. 


"See,  in  the  windings  of  fona's  coast, 

Full  many  a  spot  enriched  by  classic  fame* 
Behold  Miletus  Thales'  wisdom  boast, 
13ut  prouder  still  of  its  Aspasia's  name. 

"  Observe  where  Ephesus  its  temple  rears, 

The  seventh  wonder  of  th'  astonished  earth; 
That  mighty  monument,  the  work  of  years, 
Fell  on  the  hour  that  gave  a  conqueror  birth. 

"  At  nearer  Chios,  view  the  hallowed  shrine 
Whose  oracle  the  solemn  silence  broke; 
Erythrae  too,  where,  fired  witli  rage  divine, 
The  Sibyl  once  in  mystic  accents  spoke. 

"Now  smooth  Ionia,  grov'lling  lie  thy  fanes, 
Thy  massy  porticos  and  columns  tall; 
Alone  unchanged,  thy  genial  breeze  remains, 
And  sighs  at  even  o'er  their  mournful  fall. 

"  Beneath  the  marble  wreck  the  viper  hides, 

The  centipede  along  the  cornice  creeps; 

Quick  o'er  th'  Ionic  scroll  the  lizard  glides, 

While  in  the  sculptured  leaf  the  scorpion  sleeps, 

"Within  thy  ports  mute  solitude  prevails, 
Which  arts  and  industry  enrich  no  more; 
No  poetry  is  heard  among  thy  vales, 
No  music  floats  along  thy  desert  shore; 

"  Save  where  perchance  some  foreign  minstrel  strays, 
And  strikes  the  lyre  with  melancholy  hand; 
Or  sadly  chants  in  feeble  notes  the  lays 
Which  call  to  memory  his  native  land — ■ 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE   THE  FOURTH.  85 

■"  The  lays,  fair  lady,  which  you  sang1  so  well, 
Within  the  precincts  of  that  royal  bower. 
Where  beauty,  talents,  wit,  and  kindness  dwell, 
And  cheer  the  progress  of  each  fleeting  hour. 

*'  Still  does  the  wandering-  troubadour  aspire 

To  taste  the  joys  which  in  those  bowers  are  found; 
Beneath  their  shade  again  to  wake  the  lyre, 
And  hear  your  voice  accompany  its  sound. 

M  These  pleasing  hopes  his  spirits  still  sustain, 

And  freshened  courage  to  his  steps  impart;       - 
They  bid  him  for  tbose  halcyon  days  retain 

Unmoved  his  friendship,  and  unchanged  his  heart." 

11th  May,  1812. — I  know  not  whether  to  have  faith  in 
presentiments  or  not;  but  once  or  twice  m  my  life  "  coming 
events"  have  "cast  their  shadows  before,"  in  a  manner 
almost  supernatural.  To-day  I  experienced  the  most  gloomy 
melancholy  I  ever  felt,  without  at  the  time  having  a  cause 
for  so  doing;  but  in  the  evening,  as  I  was  at  dinner  with 
the  Princess  of  Wales,  she  received  a  letter;  I  observed 
her  change  colour  while  perusing  its  contents,  and,  cover- 
in^  her  face  with  her  hands,  she  exclaimed,  "Oh!  some- 
thing dreadful  has  happened;  I  cannot  read  it  aloud;" 
but  she  pushed  the  letter  towards  me,  and  signed  to  me  to 
do  so.  The  letter  was  from  Madame  de  Haeckle,  giving 
an  account  of  Mr.  Perceval's  assassination,  by  a  man  of 
the  name  of  Bellingham,  as  he  was  going  into  the  House  of 
Commons. — Revenge  of  private  injuries  was  stated  as  the 
cause  which  led  to  the  commission  of  this  crime — that  is  to 
say,  the  conceived  injuries; — but  Madame  de  Haeckle 
added,  "  God  grant  this  may  not  be  the  signal  for  many 
coming  woes!" — The  panic  struck  us  all,  but  no  one  more 
than  the  Princess.  I  never  saw  her  so  deeply  affected  be- 
fore, or  since.  Mr.  Locke  alone  declared  he  did  not  be- 
lieve that  the  murder,  dreadful  as  it  was,  had  any  con- 
nexion with  public  events,  but  was  a  solitary  instance  of 
crime.  About  twelve  at  night,  an  express  which  the  Prin- 
cess sent  to  Mr.  Arbuthnot  returned,  with  a  few  words 
confirming  the  truth  and  accuracy  of  the  first  statement; 
except  that  Madame  de  Haeckle  said  the  deed  had  been 
committed  in  the  House  of  Commons,  whereas  it  was  done 
in  the  lobby  of  the  house.     The  assassin  immediately  sat 

VOL.   i.  8 


86  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

down,  did  not  attempt  to  escape,  and  said  he  had  no  doubt 
his  country  would  do  him  justice  when  his  wrongs  were 
laid  before  the  public;  lie  was  sure  the  laws  would  respect 
him;  and,  in  short,  used  the  language  of  a  fanatic  or  a  ma- 
niac. Mr.  Arbuthnot  said  he  hail  lost  his  best  friend,  and 
never  could  have  his  loss  replaced.  The  whole  night  was 
spent  in  conjectures  upon  the  probable  consequences  of  this 
horrible  event. 


EXTRACTS  FROM  LETTERS, 


Giving  an  account  to  her  Royal  Highness  of  Mr.  Perceval's  Assassi- 
nation. 

"Though  I  may  not  be  able  to  send  your  Royal  High- 
ness more  particulars  than  you  are  already  acquainted  with, 
respecting  the  atrocious  and  horrible  murder  committed  last 
evening,  1  find  it  impossible  not  to  condole  with  your  Roy- 
al Highness  on  an  event  the  most  lamentable  that  could 
have  befallen  the  nation  at  this  time.  I  feel  it  the  more 
sensibly  from  its  being  connected  so  immediately  with  your 
Royal  Highness,  who  has  lost  so  true,  steady,  and  firm  a 
friend,  at  a  time,  too,  when  his  strenuous  efforts  were  em- 
ployed to  place  your  Royal  Highness,  if  not  in  the  situa- 
tion you  ought  to  hold,  at  least  in  one  more  proper  and  fit- 
ting than  your  present;  so  at  least  I  have  been  positively 
informed.  On  the  event  being  known,  the  Speaker  moved 
an  adjournment.  The  depositions  of  the  witnesses  present 
were  taken  immediately  by  Mr.  Cromeand  Mr.  M.  A.  Tay- 
lor, which  1  understand  brings  the  act  home  to  the  perpe- 
trator, Mr.  Bellingham,  a  Russian  merchant  living  at  Li- 
verpool. He  also  confesses  the  crime.  The  Lords  voted 
an  address  to  the  Regent,  which  was  immediately  taken  up 
and  presented  to  him.  Insanity  is,  of  course,  ascribed  to 
the  assassin — the  motive,  disappointment  at  not  receiving 
compensation  for  losses  in  his  trade.  Lord  Granville  Le- 
veson  is  also  said  to  be  a  person  of  whom  Bellingham  com- 
plains; but  his  lordship  has  fortunately  escaped.  As  to 
what  government  will  now  be  formed,  that  is  entirely  mat- 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  87 

ter  of  conjecture — but  a  few  hours  must  decide.    As  your 
Royal  Highness  may  probably  determine  to  defer  your  ap 
pearance  in  public  to-morrow,  I  shall  take  it  as  a  favour  if 
vou  will  let  me  know  your  pleasure. 

"  I  have  the  honour  to  remain,  &c.,  &c, 

(Signed)         «  A.  B.  ST.  LEGER." 

MondayT. — I  was  glad  to  hear  a  person,  very  much  against 
the  Princess  of  Wales,  say,  that-  he  considered  what  had 
passed  in  the  House  of  Commons  as  decisive  in  her  favour, 
and  that  noihing  more  can  be  attempted  to  be  brought 
against  her,  nor  would  dare  to  be  attempted  on  the  other 
side — for  the  unpopularity  is  extreme.  The  Prince  Re- 
gent went  yesterday  in  grand  state  to  the  Chapel  Royal; — 
the  first  time  of  his  appearance  as  sovereign.  As  he  pro- 
ceeded from  Carlton  House  to  St.  James's,  surrounded  by 
all  his  pomp,  &c,  not  a  single  huzza  from  the  crowd  as- 
sembled to  behold  him!  Not  a  hat  oh*'!  Of  this  I  was  as- 
sured by  a  gentleman  present,  on  whom  I  can  depend. 

Tuesday, ,  1812. 

"  Nothing  has  yet  transpired  of  ministerial  arrangements? 
nor  is  it  even  known  whom  the  Prince  Regent  has  seen: 
but  it  is  thought  that  the  same  ministry  are  to  be  conti- 
nued, anil  that  they  will  still  venture  to  try  their  hand. 
The  Prince  Regent  certainly  has  a  mind  towards  Lord 
Wellesley,  and  as  certainly  saw  him  before  Perceval's 
death, — 1  believe  on  the,  Wednesday  preceding;  but  whe- 
ther Lord  Wellesley  will  join  with  these,  that  is,  thinks  him- 
self sufficiently  strong  or  not,  is  doubtful.  1  dread  him!  He 
is  violent,  arrogant,  ami  haughty!  Poor  Perceval,  as  a 
private  man,  is  much  to  be  regretted;  as  a  minister,  not 
so;  as  is  most  plain  by  the  way  his  death  is  received  by  the 
people!  He  would  not  believe  in  their  present  distress  and 
difficulties,  nor  hold  out  any  consoling  hope  for  their  re- 
lief; and  all  that  has  followed,  and  I  fear  will  follow,  is  in 
a  great  measure  the  consequence  of  his  harsh  and  head- 
strong disbelief  in  miseries  too  manifest  to  be  doubtful.  No 
wonder  then  if  the  people  grow  violent  and  unmanageable 
from  despair,  and  seek  remedies,  alas!  where  they  are  least 
likely  to  be  found,  and  throw  all  into  confusion!  I  can- 
not, as  some  do,  put  my  head  into  a  bag,  and  fancy  others 
do  not  see  me;  or  shut  my  eyes  and  not  see  the  gloomy 


88  MKMOIRS  OF  THE 

prospects  of  the   country.     As  to  the  opposition  coming  in 
at  present,  I  neither  believe  nor  wish  it." 

"  I  last  night  saw  at  Mr.  G.  Lamb's  several  members  of 
the  House  of  Commons  who  were  present,  both  at  the  mo- 
ment of  the  assassination,  and  at  the  examination  ot  the  as- 
sassin; and  likewise  Lord  Lauderdale,  and  some  of  the  other 
lords,  who  carried  up  an  address  to  the  Prince  Regent. 
There  is  not  the  least  appearance,  or  evidence,  or  indeed 
suspicion,  of  this  vile  act  being  done  in  concert  with  any 
body  or  any  party  of  people,  or  of  the  murderer  having  any 
accomplice.     He  had  been  in  former  times  a  ship-broker 
or  something  of  that  sort  at  Liverpool,  and  within  these 
few  years  was  resident  in  Russia  upon  some  commercial 
business;  where  his  conduct  was  eternally  getting  him  into 
scrapes,  and  giving  much  trouble  to  Lord  Granville  Leve- 
son,  our  then  minister  there.     It  is  said  too,  that  he  was 
for  some  time  confined  in  that  country,  on  account  of  po- 
sitive insanity.     At  present  he  seems  perfectly  calm,  and 
free  from  any  of  the  manners  of  a  madman.      He  said  upon 
his  examination,  that  he  was  perfectly  aware  of  the  atrocity 
of  the  action,  but  that  if  he  was  to  be  calmly  heard,  he  did 
not  doubt  that  he  could  justify  it.     He  never  attempted 
escape,  either  before  or  after  his  seizure.     The  Prince  Re- 
gent received  the  address  of  the  Lords  within  an  hour  after 
the  event  had  taken  place,  with  every  due  and  decent  ex- 
pression of  regret;  it  was  carried  up  to  Carlton  House  by 
Lords  Grey,  Lauderdale,  Lansdowne,  Holland,  the  Duke 
of  Rutland,  and  some  one  else  whose  name  I  have  forgot, 
accompanied  bv  all  the  Princes  and  the  Duke  of  York,  who 
delivered  it.     The  address  was  one  merely  stating  the  hor- 
rible crime  that  had  been  committed  on  the  person  of  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Lower  House  within  the  precincts  of  Parliament, 
and  praying  a  minute  inquiry,  and  speedy  justice  upon  the 
delinquent.     The  House  of  Commons,  in  their  confusion, 
had  adjourned  without  coming  to  any  vote  on  the  subject. — 
You  may  easily  conceive  the  effect  this  event  must  have 
had  on  all  society  last  night  in   London,  and   how  it,  and 
nothing  but  it,  was  talked  of  universally,  with  all  the  hor- 
ror which  such  a  catastrophe  must  inspire.     I  am  sorry  to 
add,  that  its  effect  on   the  mob  who  had  collected  at  the 
doors  of  the  House  of  Commons  before  the  murderer  was 
removed,  was  by  no  means  such  as  could  be  wished— I 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  89 

mean,  that  they  did  not  seem  at  all  impressed  with  horror 
at  such  a  crime,  so  committed,  but  seemed  careless  about 
the  matter,  and  even  disposed  to  joke;  without,  however, 
any  party  cry,  or  any  disposition  to  rioting." 

Her  Royal  Highness  sent  for  me  again  the  next  day.  She 
repeated  all  that  had  been  said  the  preceding  evening;  and 
then  she  drew  conclusions  as  to  the  future,  respecting 
the  ministry,  the  Government,  and  other  public  matters, 
with  such  ingenuity  of  combination,  and  so  much  sound 
reasoning,  that  I  hail  a  higher  opinion  of  the  powers  of  her 
mind  than  I  ever  entertained  before. 

"  The  Prince,"  said  she,  "  never  will  have  sufficient 
energy  to  change  his  whole  set  of  ministers,  whatever  he 
may  wish  to  do;  and  lie  will  merely  get  in  Lord  Wellesley, 
or  some  such  person,  to  plaster  up  the  rent  this  great  man's 
death  has  made."  Then  she  added,  with  an  expression  of 
feeling  which  excited  my  warmest  sympathy  for  her  situa- 
tion, "  i  have  lost  my  best  friend;  I  know  not  where  to  look 
for  another: — though  even  he  was  changed  towards  me 
since  he  had  become  one  of  the  ministers.  Whoever  is  in 
power  becomes  always  more  or  less  the  creature  of  the 
Prince,  and  of  course  less  friendly  to  me.  No,  no,"  she 
said,  "  there  is  no  more  society  for  me  in  England;  fur  do 

you  think  if  Lady  H by,  and  the  Duchess  of  B 1, 

and  all  that  set,  were  to  come  round  to  me  now,  that  I 
would  invite  them  to  my  intimacy?  Never.  They  left  me 
without  a  reason,  as  time  serves,  and  I  never  can  wish  for 
them  back  again.  I  am  too  proud  for  that.  I  do  not  say 
that,  were  they  to  be  civil  again,  I  never  would  ask  them 
to  a  great  dinner  or  ball;  that  is  quite  anoder  affair.  Mais 
vous  sentez  bien,  dat  to  have  dem  in  de  intimate  footing 
dey  used  to  be  on,  coming  every  Sunday  night,  and  all  dat 
sort  of  ting,  never.  No,  I  repeat  it,  so  long  as  dat  man 
lives,  [meaning  the  Regent/]  les  choses  vont  de  mal  en  pire 
for  me — for  whoever  comes  in  to  serve  him,  even  dose 
calling  themselves  my  friends,  are  just  the  samt';  they  will 
set  me  aside  and  worship  the  Regent — enfin,  I  have  had 
patience  for  seventeen  years,  and  I  conclude  I  must  for 
seventeen  years  longer." 

To  hear  complaints  too  well  founded,  to  be  low  spirited 
oneself,  to  have  no  consolation  to  offer,  save  of  a  kind  that 
unfortunately  for  her  she  has  never  been  taught  to  resort  to* 

8* 


90  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

and  consequently  cannot  benefit  from,  is  a  very  painful 
situation  for  any  one  to  be  in  who  is  her  friend.  I  admire 
her  in  many  instances — I  honour  her  masculine  nobleness 
and  magnanimity;  but  I  feel  that  we  are  too  far  apart  in 
our  habits  and  views,  for  me  to  be  able  either  to  divert,  or 
entertain,  or  comfort  her.  I  can  listen,  however;  and  that 
is  always  some  consolation. 

She  received  various  letters  from  all  her  intimates,  filled 
with  accounts  of  the  tragic  event;  then  her  Royal  Highness 
proposed  driving  to  Lady  Oxford's,  to  consult  witli  her.  I 
did  not  immediately  contradict  her;  but  the  idea  of  driving 
to  Lady  Oxford's  at  a  moment  when  I  knew  all  eyes  would 
be  turned  upon  her,  terrified  me  for  her  sake.  Shortly 
after  she  ordered  her  phaeton,  1  know  not  what  impelled 
me,  but  I  exclaimed,  "Oh!  I  trust  not  to  go  to  Lady  Ox- 
ford; I  am  so  afraid,  Madam,  of  what  may  be  said."  On 
looking  up,  I  saw  a  rising  storm  on  her  countenance.  She 
affected  great  composure,  and  said  with  a  pettish  air,  "  Oh, 
'tis  all  one,  I  assure  you — let  us  not  go;"  upon  which  she 
turned  short  upon  her  heel,  and  walked  away  in  anger  into 
the  garden.  I  felt  sorry  at  having  been  guilty  of  any  thing 
she  deemed  disrespectful.  I  knew  not  what  to  do,  but  I 
thought  I  had  done  what  a  real  regard  for  her  demanded; 
so  I  followed  her,  and  when  I  came  up  to  her,  I  saw  that 
she  wished  to  hide  her  anger,  and,  with  a  command  of  tem- 
per, rare  in  most  persons,  but  admirable  in  a  Princess,  she 
began  talking  upon  indifferent  subjects  with  great  self- 
command,  and  I  saw  that  she  was  determined  to  forget  the 
circumstance,  and  I  on  my  part  resolved  never  to  repeat 
the  offence.  After  all,  1  knew  that  she  would  always  fol- 
low the  bent  of  her  own  inclinations,  and  nothing  but  an 
imprudent  impulse  of  real  friendship  made  me  hazard  one 
word  of  advice. 

"When  I  was  first  introduced  to  her  Royal  Highness,  she 
gave  me  her  opinion  upon  the  subject  of  advice,  and  after  we 
became  better  acquainted,  she  said,  with  many  flattering 
expressions  on  my  character,  "  Now  I  look  upon  you  as  a 
friend,  and  we  shall  never  quarrel  if  you  never  give  me 
any  advice."  In  future,  therefore,  I  determined  (and  I  kept 
to  my  determination)  that  unless  her  Royal  Highness  should 
call  upon  me  to  act  in  any  business,  or  on  any  occasion, 
that  I  deemed  hurtful  to  myself  personally,  I  neither  would 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  91 

contradict  nor  advise  her — that  was  the  province  of  others. 
Fortunately,  or  unfortunately,  it  is  difficult  to  say  which, 
Lady  Oxford  herself  came,  accompanied  by  Lord  A.  Hamil- 
ton, and  Lord  G y.     These  visiters  prevented  her 

going  out  to  commit  any  imprudence  to  which  the  excited 
state  of  her  mind  might  have  tempted  her. 

Thursday,  14th. — The  drawing-room  was  put  off,  which 
of  course  disappointed  the  Princess,  as  she  wished  to  be  on 
the  scene  as  much  as  possible. 

Saturday. — I  was  invited  to  Blackheath.  The  Princess 
Charlotte,  as  usual,  at  dinner;  Monsieur  and  Madame  de 
Haeckle,  Lady  Elizabeth  Whitbread,  Miss  Whitbread,  and 
the  Dowager  Lady  Grey.  I  was  sorry  to  see  these  excel- 
lent people  there  on  this  day.  because  I  feared  her  Royal 
Highness  would  be  blamed  for  inviting  them  to  meet  her 
daughtei ;  as  her  enemies  will  turn  every  thing  to  her  dis- 
advantage, and  exaggerate  every  error.  The  Princess  had 
been  forbidden  to  invite  any  persons  whatever  to  meet  the 
Princess  Charlotte. 

"  The  Albany,  Sunday. 
"  MY  DEAR , 

"  I  shall  have  the  pleasure  of  (lining  with  you  to-mor- 
row, but  you  will  see  me  quite  crest-fallen.  Madame  de 
Stael!  Oh!  Madame  de  Stael! — '  Oh!  Huncamunca! — 
Huncamunca,  oh!' — How  shall  I  write  it.  She  told  me — 
she  uttered  it  with  her  own  lips — 1  heard  it  with  my  own 
ears — it  was  to  my  own  face,  which  still  burns  with  morti- 
fication, that  she  said  it — she  told  me — shame  checks  my 
pen — in  short,  she  told  me — that  I  was — inferieur!  Oh! 
all  ye  gods,  inferieur!  Write  it  not,  my  hand.  'The 
word  appears  already  written;  wash  it  out,  my  tears:'  and 
not  inferieur  merely,  but  tres  inferieur!  Humiliating  truth; 
can  I  ever  survive  thy  declaration!  What  can  I  do? 
whither  shall  I  fly?  Malheur evx  que  je  suis!  where  hide 
my  diminished  head. — Ilelas! — Oime!  heigh  ho! — Oh  dear! 
lack  a  daisy!  bubble  and  squeak,  &c,  and  so  forth. 

"  You  may  perceive  that  this  mortification  has  nearly 


92  MEMOIRS  OF   inE 

turned  my  head;  let  me,  (here-fore,  use  what  little  sense  I 
have  left  to  assure  you  tlvat  I  am,  *  *  * 


"  Your  sincere  friend, 

(Signed)  "  M.  G.  Lewis."* 

Brighton. 
I  saw  Ladies  Melbourne  and  Cowper,  Lords  Worcester 
and  Brook,  walking  upon  the  abominable  Steyne,  which 
looks  to  me  like  a  piece  of  ground  where  felons  are  allowed 
to  take  the  air.  Oh!  how  litile  fashionable  folks  know  of 
rural  enjoyments,  or  (1  believe)  of  any  enjoyment!     Lady 

M is  a  friend  of  my  friends,  so  1  am  sure  there  must 

be  some  fair  stuff  in  her;  but  she  is  sadly  encased  in  world- 
ly ice.  1  wish  I  could  be  very  fine.  I  think  it  is  a  co- 
vering to  all  sorts  of  deformity;  and  the  silence  and  gran- 
deur of  it  imposes  delightfully  upon  the  multitude.  The 
bareness  and  glare  of  Brighton  put  my  eyes  out,  and  the 
bustle  and  noise  put  my  patience  out;  so  Brighton  is  not  in 
my  good  graces.  To-day  I  saw  my  old  tutor.  He  con- 
fesses that  he  is  nearly  tired  of  keeping  a  school;  and  no 
wonder;  for  though  the  theory  of  education  is  mighty  pret- 
ty in  prose  or  verse,  it  is  an  Herculean  labour  when  put  in 
actual  practice;  anil  nothing  but  a  sense  of  duty  can  make 
any  one  go  through  with  it. 

I  received  a  letter  from  the  Princess.  She  tells  me  that 
the  paper  called  the  Acivs,  has  been  bought  over  by  Carl- 
ton House,  and  that  editor,  a  Mr.  *  *  *,  is  going  to  publish 
a  correspondence,  which  he  declares  to  have  pas*ed  between 
the  Princes?,  herself,  and  Lady  Anne  Hamilton,  and  Lord 
Perceval,  which  correspondence  her  Royal  Highness  savs 
is  a  forgery.  She  requests  me  not  to  take  the  News  in  any 
more,  and  likewise  wishes  all  those  who  profess  to  be  her 
friends,  to  forbid  it  in  their  families.     One  of  her  Royal 

•  Qui  prouve  trop,  ne  prouve  rien.  This  elaborate  effort  not  to 
betray  mortification,  defeats  its  own  purpose.  But  why  did  Mr. 
Lewis  tell  of  this  circumstance?  and  if  lie  thought  it  necessary  to  do 
so,  why  not  say  honestly,  "it  wounded  me."  Madame  De  Stael's 
blunt  sincerity  in  this  instance~was  misapplied,  and  apparently  uncalled 
for.  If  her  opinion  had  been  a  just  one,  it  was  not  like  her  usual  supe- 
riority of  mind,  to  give  unnecessary  pain. 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE   FOURTH.  93 

Highness's  ladies  is  much  distressed  at  the  continued  alarms 
which  such  threats  impart  to  her  Royal  mistress;  and,  in 
writing  to  me  by  the  Princess's  desire  to  tell   me  of  the 

above  circumstance,  Lady adds,  that  she  thinks  she 

will  not  be  able  to  continue  in  the  Princess's  service;  lor 
not  only  is  it  a  situation  of  constant  uneasiness,  but  also  of 
very  great  fatigue; — such  a  perpetual  excitement  from  lit- 
tle causes,  that,  during  the  period  of  her  waiting,  she  never 

knows   peace.     Lady  is  sincerely  attached    to- the 

Princess;  but  she  says,  and  says  truly,  that  it  is  impossible 
for  her,  or  indeed  for  any  one  else,  to  be  of  use  to  her  Ro- 
yal Highness;  for  if  §he  asks  advice  one  day,  she  acts  in  di- 
rect opposition  to  it  the  next:  and  Lady adds,  1  fore- 
see so  much  misery  likely  to  be  the  poor  Princess  of  Wales's 
lot,  that  I  had  rather,  being  unable  to  serve  her,  not  be  im- 
plicated in  the  blame  which  will  fall  upon  those  persons 
who,  it  is  very  naturally  supposed,  have  some  influence 
over  her  conduct. 

Fortunately  for  Lady ,  the  Windsor  expedition,  or 

royal  siege,  is  not  likely  to  take  place  during  her  time  of 
waiting,  for  Lady  De  Clifford  has  got  inflamed  eyes,  and 
has  been  obliged  to  come  to  town.  Princess  Charlotte  is  in 
consequence  shut  up  in  the  castle  with  the  Queen  Grand- 
mother, and  so  all  will  remain  as  it  is  for  the  present.  The 
Prince's  going  in  person,  or  not,  to  the  House  on  Monday, 
is  uncertain;  a  negotiation  I  hear  is  carrying  on  between 
Lord  Wellesley,  Canning,  and  the  Whigs,  in  order  to  turn 
out  the  present  Ministry — that,  would  be  a  good  deed;  but 
I  dread  Lord  Wellesley  as  a  minister  more  than  any  others: 
he  is  ambitious,  haughty,  extravagant  to  excess. — Alas!  poor 
country !  Where  Napoleon  and  Kutosou  are,  with  their  ar- 
mies, no  one  can  tell. 

December  2nd,  1812. 

The  Princess  Charlotte  was  at  the  House,  and  sat  on  the 
woolsack  near  the  throne;  two  of  the  Princesses  came  from 
Windsor  to  accompany  her, — it  was  remarked,  that  she 
talked  and  laughed  much,  turned  her  back  often  upon  papa, 
and  had  a  certain  expressive  smile  during  the  speech,  which 
did  not  displease  all  the  lords,  nor  all  the  latlies  there.  The 
Prince,  it  is  said,  was  much  displeased  at  her  manner;  in 
addition  to  which,  the  Princess  Charlotte  spoke  to  Lord 


94  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

Erskine,  and  nodded  to  Lord  Jersey;  but  those  from  whom 
I  heard  this  seemed  to  be  diverted  only  ;it  what  had  passed, 
and  attached  no  blame  to  her  Royal  Highness.*  His  Ro- 
yal Highness  was  flurried  and  nervous,  both  in  going  to 
and  returning  from  the  house,  but  delivered  his  speech 
well. — A  pretty  speech  it  was.  By  the  people  he  was  re- 
ceived with  dead  silence,  and  not  a  hat  oft', — some  marks 
of  disapprobation  even,  with  scarcely  any  loyal  greeting; 
only  a  few  plaudits  as  he  went  through  the  Horse  Guards, 
— no  general  burst  of  popular  applause. 

There  was  a  report  of  the  Prince  Regent's  being  ill,  and 
I  was  told  the  King  had  been  and  was,  since  Monday  last, 
in  such  paroxysms,  that  they  were  considerably  alarmed  at 
Windsor.  I  am  much  amused  at  hearing  that  her  Grace 
the  Duchess  of  Leeds  is  appointed  first  lady  to  the  Prin- 
cess Charlotte. 

I  have  only  observed  the  advertisement  (of  (he  letters  the 
Princess  of  Wales  wished  to  have  published)  once  inserted 
in  the  Morning  Chronicle,  and  it  is  not,  I  find,  yet  general- 
ly understood,  as  being  a  genuine  document.  I  am  in  hopes 
that  some  compromise  may  be  offered  from  the  other  side; 
and  the  less  that  is  said  about  it,  therefore,  I  think,  the 
better.  I  dread  the  publication  of  these  epistles,  as,  how- 
ever great  it  may  make  her  wrongs  appear — anil  great  in 
my  opinion  they  are — yet  it  will  give  colour  to  a  charge  of 
breach  of  trust  in  making  letters  public  that  were  never 
written  to  meet  the  public  eye.     This  might  not  be  an 


*  It  would  be  astonishing  to  observe  how  much  party  spirit  per- 
verts  the  minds  of  those  over  whom  it  lakes  possession,  (even  the  best 
natures,)  were  it  not  so  common  an  occurrence,  that  it  no  longer 
strikes  as  being  a  novel  or  singular  circumstance,  but  seems  to  be  a 
received  apology  lor  every  sort  of  dereliction  from  moral  or  religious 
principle,  or  even  fiom  natural  feeling. — What  in  reality  could  be  more 
unamiable  than  for  a  daughter  to  hold  her  father  in  contempt? — and 
what  more  disgusting,  than  that  she*  should  show  she  did  so? — No 
state  considerations  -  nay,  even  no  feeling  for  an  injured  mother,  could 
justify  such  a  sentiment,  or  such  behaviour.  l$ut,  by  all  I  could  learn, 
the  whole  thing  was  misrepresented;  probably  Princess  Charlotte  was 
more  interested  in  the  pageant  than  in  any  consideration  of  the  real 
consequence  of  the  scene,  and  in  the  gay  spirits  of  her  youth  thought 
more  of  individuals  whom  she  knew  and  liked,  than  of  the  more  se- 
rious consequences  of  the  drama  in  which  she  performed  so  conspi- 
cuous a  part. 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  95 

objection  at  a  moment  of  personal  attack,  (or  after  a  lap.?e 
of  years  when  time  brings  foul  and  fair  to  light,)  but  this 
not  being  at  present  the  case,  I  repeat  that  I  dread  the  publi- 
cation of  them,  and  think  it  is  highly  injudicious  in  her 
Royal  Highness's  advisers. 

It  appears  that  Napoleon  has  got  to  Wilna,  and  is  safe, 
with  a  great  part  of  his  army.  The  Russian  Ambassadrice, 
I  heard  from  Lady  Warren,  is  making  all  sorts  of  inquiries 
as  to  the  form  mi  which  she  is  to  be  presented  to  her  Royal 
Highness  the  Princess  Regent! — How  will  they  get  oft*  this? 
I  wish  it  may  embarrass  them,  but  fear  it  will  not.* 


Kensington,  Monday. 

Came  here  yesterday  by  invitation — the  house  desperate- 
ly cold,  and  every  thing  else  as  bad  as  ever;  was  command- 
ed at  half  past  two  to  accompany  the  Princess  of  Wales  to 
see  the  young  princes,  her  nephews.  She  hates  them,  I  don't 
know  why,  unless  it  is  that,  as  she  says,  they  are  fright- 
ful. As  usual,  she  was  mighty  gracious  to  me,  but  that  is 
because  I  am  not  curious  or  prying; — I  only  wish  I  had  ears 
and  heard  not,  eyes  and  saw  not;— but  as  that  cannot  be,  I 
render  myself  as  deaf,  blind,  anil  dumb  as  I  can,  and  think 
myself  perfectly  justified  in  so  doing. — Her  Lady  in  waiting 
said  to  me,  "tilings  are  grown  so  bad,  so  dull,  so  black, 
that  if  it  were  not  for  the  determination  of  putting  a  speedy 
end  to  my  slavery,  I  could  not  endure  it:  to  have,  all  day 
and  all  night,  long  complaints  poured  forth  from  which  theie 
is  no  remedy  or  relief, — nothing  in  heaven  or  earth  that  one 


•  When  these  matters  came  to  stand  recorded  on  the  page  of  his- 
tory,  as  recorded  they  most  certainly  will  be,  how  differently  will  the 
characters  of  the  persons  figuring  in  those  times  he  regarded  from 
what  they  were  at  the  period  in  which  they  lived!  Could  any  thing 
be  more  mean  or  unworthy,  than  the  constant  pitty  acts  of  provoca- 
tion and  insult,  which  were  heaped  upon  the  mother  of  the  future 
Queen?  How  impossible  was  it  that  Princess  Charlotte  should  not  in 
some  degree  resent  these  injuries  and  affronts,  which  must  have 
wounded  her  own  self  pride,  together  with  every  better  feeling  of 
her  nature!  Hers,  indeed  was  a  most  difficult  part  to  play:  if  she  dis- 
played affection  and  respect  for  the  one  parent,  she  tacitly  blamed  the 
other. 


96  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

can  point  to  as  a  sanctuary  from  tliem!  and  I  know  of  only 
one  other  place  to  mention,  which  is  not  polite. — The  feeling 
that  I  tell  you  this,  and  that  when  in  her  presence  I  seem 
pleased,  is  a  constant  goad  to  my  conscience,  and  would 
make  me  miserable,  even  it  ennui  and  a  consciousness  of  pos- 
sible disgrace  did  not  render  me  so. — All  the  day  long  her 
Royal  Highness  continues  to  talk  of  wishing  people  dead, 
and  I  must  not  dare  to  contradict  the  wish.  I  have  been 
an  accomplice  in  murder  many  a  time,  if  silence  gives  con- 
sent.*' 

The  Piincess  made  many  complaints  of  La  reine  des 
Ostrogoths,  and  long  histories  about  the  Squallinis,  and  the 
Grimas,  that  really  disgusted  me; — if  she  likes  busying 
herself  with  such  objects,  I  do  not.  The  old  ourang  outang 
came  to  dinner, — think  of  him  pour  tout  bien,  more  free 
and  easy  and  detestable  than  ever.  Then  her  Royal  High- 
ness sang — squally — squally,  why  invite  me? 

After  supper  she  continued  the  complaints.  I  cannot 
describe  how  wearisome,  how  unavailing  and  injudicious 
the  subjects  of  her  conversation  now  are  in  general.  I 
know  so  perfectly  that  advice  or  even  example  is  totally 
thrown  away,  and  that  vvvsy  body  who  gives  such  is  de- 
tested without  benefiting  her,  that  in  the  pass  to  which 
things  are  arrived  there  is  only  one  course  to  be  pursued, 
silence — and  to  break  from  her  society.  Regret  must  and 
ever  will  have  place  in  my  thoughts,  when  I  shall  look 
back  on  the  past,  and  think  of  the  pleasant  days  which  I 
have  spent  with  the  Princess  of  Wales,  and  recollect  how 
cruellv  she  has  been  treated,  and  how  recklessly  she  has 
plajed  into  her  enemies'  hands,  by  going  on  in  a  course 
which  must  ruin  her  character  and   happiness. 

The  persons  who  have  gained  undue  influence  over  the 
Princess,  have  cunningly  persuaded  her  to  renounce  all  her 
former  friends — and  she  herself  has  too  much  sense  not  to 
be  aware  that  the  respectable  individuals,  who  were  a  short 
time  ago  proud  to  frequent  her  society,  would  not  do  so 
now;  neither  would  Her  Royal  Highness  invite  them,  for 
she  knows  her  present  associates  are  very  unfit  company 
to  be  seen  in  her  house;  so  she  pretends  that  she  has  found 
her  old  friends  insincere  and  unkind — and  professes  not  to 
like  them. 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  97 

The  next  day  her  Royal  Highness  made  a  party  to  go  to 
a  small  cottage  which  she  had  taken  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Bayswater,  where  she  could  feel  herself  unshackled  by  all 
the  restraints  of  royalty  and  etiquette ;  there  she  received  a 
set  of  persons  wholly  unfit  to  be  admitted  to  her  society.  It 
is  true,  that  since  the  days  of  Mary  of  Scotland,  (when 
Rizzio  sang  in  the  Queen's  closet,)  and  in  the  old  time  before 
her,  all  royal  persons  have  delighted  in  some  small  retired 
place  or  apartment,  where  they  conceived  themselves  at 
liberty  to  cast  off  the  cares  of  their  high  station,  and  descend 
from  the  pedestal  of  power  and  place,  to  taste  the  sweets  of 
private  life.  But  in  all  similar  cases,  this  attempt  to  be  what 
they  were  not,  has  only  proved  injurious  to  them — every 
station  has  its  price — its  penalty.  Princes  and  Princesses 
must  live  for  the  public — and  though  it  has  sometimes  been 
said  that  dissimulation  was  necessary  to  them,  I  believe  it  is 
the  reverse.  They  are  beacons  set  on  a  hill — they  must  be 
an  example  or  a  warning,  and  when  they  lurk  about  in  cor- 
ners, and  forsake  the  society  of  those  with  whom  they  ought 
to  associate,  for  that  of  low  buffoons  and  creatures  who  pan- 
der to  their  vanity  and  folly,  the  die  is  cast,  and  they  fall 
rapidly  to  perdition.  To  some  who  have  been  more  power- 
ful than  others,  the  descent  has  been  more  gradual ;  but  from 
whatever  I  do  remember  in  tale  or  history,  those  princes  have 
become  despicable,  and  finally  lost,  who  gave  themselves  up 
to  favouritism  and  all  its  attendant  unworthiness ;  and,  by  the 
Princess  especially,  a  more  unwise  or  foolish  course  could 
not  have  been  pursued*  'ban  this  imitation  of  her  unfortunate 
Sister  Queen,  of  France.  All  the  follies,  though  not  the  ele- 
gance and  splendour  of  Trianon,  were  aped  in  the  rural  re- 
treat of  Bayswater  !  ! — and  the  Princess's  foes  were  not 
backward  at  seizing  upon  this  circumstance,  and  turning  it 
(as  well  they  might)  to  effect  her  downfall.  As  far  as  regards 
this  world  only,  it  is  much  more  frequently  imprudence  than 
actual  crime  which  finally  hurls  people  to  their  destruction. 

All  the  time  that  her  Royal  Highness  was  going  on  in  this 
idle,  unworthy  manner,  there  existed  a  half-smothered  com- 
punction which  made  her  wish  to  excuse  her  conduct,  for 
none  can  entirely  emancipate  themselves  from  blame,  when 
aware  that  it  is  merited  ;  or  remain  ignorant  of  the  sentence, 
which  they  deserve  to  have  passed  upon  them  by  their  fellow 
mortals.  The  Princess  said,  how  ill  it  would  appear  in  the 
eyes  of  the  world  if  she  diverted  herself  and  gave  balls  and 

Vol.  I.  9 


98  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

assemblies,  when  no  further  supplies  were  granted  to  her, 
and  that  she  must  consequently  run  into  debt  if  she  incurred 
any  unnecessary  expenses  ;  besides,  unhappy  as  she  was  at 
being  deprived  of  Princess  Charlotte's  society,  how  could 
she  affect  gaiety, — would  not  her  doing  so  have  the  worst 
possible  appearance  ?  would  not  people  blame  her  and  say, 
all  she  wanted  was  to  amuse  herself — "  there,  you  see,  she 
cares  not  for  her  daughter,  so  that  she  has  company."  There 
was  much  plausibility  in  all  this  lying,  but,  unfortunately,  I 
am  too  well  acquainted  with  the  interior  to  be  so  deceived — 
to  say  the  truth,  I  often  wonder  that  the  world  is  as  easily 
gulled  as  it  is  by  the  great  little  people  :  it  only  proves  that 
it  is  the  station  and  not  the  human  being  that  twists  and 
metamorphoses  everything  ;  but  a  near  inspection  of  Les 
tours  de  Passe-passe  reduces  all  the  magic  to  mere  juggling. 
Sometimes  I  am  enraged  at  myself  for  enduring  to  be  in  their 
society  for  a  moment,  much  more  so  for  laughing  or  seeming 
pleased  ;  but  I  have  the  same  sensation  as  if  I  was  living  with 
mad  people,  and  really  humour  her  as  much  as  I  would  do 
them,  for  fear  of  the  immediate  consequences  to  myself. 
Yesterday,  at  dinner,  before  the  servants,  she  told  the  abomi- 
nable, that  a  hundred  virgins  had  strewed  flowers  in  the  Duke 
of  Brunswick's  way,  on  his  landing  in  Holland,  &c,  &c. 

Tuesday,  11th. — I  am  informed  that  the  music  mania  is  at 
its  highest  pitch  ;  the  intervals  between  singing  and  eating,  are 
filled  up  with  tedious  complaints,  which  mean  nothing,  or 
nothing  that  they  ought  to  mean.  The  Princess  obliged  one 
of  her  ladies  to  tell  the  ourang  outang's  fortune ;  it  was  not 
difficult  to  tell  of  his  impudence  and  cunning  and  rapacious- 
ness,  but  he  would  not  take  the  hint.  It  was  quite  a  relief 
to-day  to  be  invited  to  meet  Mr.  Gell,  Mr.  Knight,  and  Mr. 
Craven  at  dinner,  but  her  manner  to  them,  especially  to  the 
two  latter,  would  be  comical  in  the  extreme,  if  it  were  not 
melancholy,  from  the  knowledge  of  the  source  whence  it 
arises.  I  could  not  help  looking  with  a  scrutinizing  glance 
at  Mr.  Craven,  and  I  think  his  ejes  are  unsealed.  Mr.  Gell's 
are  still  close  shut,  but  the  degree  of  bonhommie  and  truth, 
with  which  he  speaks  to  her  Royal  Highness,  is  very  divert- 
ing. He  talked  of  a  gentleman  who  sings  divinely,  and  who 
is  very  handsome  and  agreeable,  and  wished  to  be  allowed  to 
be  presented  to  her  Royal  Highness;  at  which  I  saw  the 
Princess  quite  furious, — a  rival  Squallini !  mercy  upon  us — 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  99 

what  should  we  do  ?  how  should  we  dare  to  listen  to  any 
other  music  than  that  of  the  one  par  excellence?  In  short, 
nobody  is  to  come  into  the  house  but  Squallinis.  She  told 
me  she  should  sell  all  her  plate,  all  her  toilette  ornaments 
given  her  by  the  king,  everything,  in  short,  which  she  could 
convert  into  money — for  money  she  must  have. 

Another  person  in  my  place,  would  say  to  her  Royal  High- 
ness, when  she  is  detailing  her  money  grievances,  but  surely, 
madam,  if  you  have  gained  £2000  a  year  by  putting  your 
servants  on  board  wages,  and  that  you  have  had  £1000  from 
another  source,  and  that  you  get  £1200  a  year  by  not  paying 
your  ladies,  you  ought  to  be  richer  than  ever  ; — but  no,  I 
never  said  one  word  of  all  this — a  quoi  bon  ? — She  is  abso- 
lutely infatuated,  she  even  talks  of  marrying  again — but  never 
till  she  has  tried  the  favoured  mortal,  and  made  him  pass  five 
times  through  the  fiery  furnace  of  constancy  and  truth :  there 
is  an  ordeal  for  you  ! — it  is  more  truly  an  ordeal  than  Miss 
Adair's.*  To  kill  the  Regent,  then  go  abroad  with  a  court 
of  her  own  making,  of  which  the  fiddler  is  to  be  king,  is  her 
favourite  plan;  Campbell  is  to  write  the  epithalamium,  and 
Lady  C.  L.  and  Lady  C.  C,  the  two  favourites,  are  to  be  the 
ladies  of  the  bedchamber — and  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * 
*  *  <«  Do-n't  you  think  this  will  be  delightful  ?"  she  asks 
me.  Writing  these  notes,  though  they  are  never  to  meet  any 
eye  but  my  own — seems  to  me  unamiable,  for  lam  more 
than  ever  overwhelmed  with  kindness. 

Though  the  Princess  was  playing  at  chess  with  Lord  Pal- 
merston,  she  overheard  every  word  I  said,  and  that  was  not 
agreeable,  though,  in  fact,  I  said  nothing  that  was  of  any  con- 
sequence. I  endeavoured  as  much  as  possible  to  turn  the 
conversation  upon  books,  and  upon  such  books  as  I  was 
aware  she  would  not  have  the  patience  to  read.  Neverthe- 
less, from  a  quickness  of  perception,  great  tact,  and  an  excel- 
lent memory,  she  catches  the  title  of  every  work,  and,  having 
turned  over  the  leaves,  has  a  sort  of  smattering  of  the  con- 
tents, which  she  hashes  up  with  other  people's  opinions,  and 
gives  the  whole  en  rechauffe,  with  a  faux  brillant  which  im- 
poses on  the  many.  As  soon  as  these  men  went  away,  she 
felt  a  weight  removed  from  her. — She  cannot  now  bear  to  be 
in  good  society:  she  calls  it  dull;  and,  true  enough,  good 
society  is  often  dull — whereas  what  is  called  good  (though 

*   Miss  Adair,  afterwards  Mrs.  Gray,  wrote  a  novel  cal'ed  the  Ordeal. 


100  MRMOIRS    OF    THE 

often  bad)  is  tire  reverse.  What  strange  misnomers  there  are 
in  the  world !  but  it  is  possible  to  unite  greatness  with 
goodness ;  and  at  all  events,  it  is  a  great  merit  to  bear  dul- 
ness  with  patience. 

The  Princess  is  always  busying  herself  with  the  multipli- 
cation-table— that  is,  putting  two  and  two  together.  She 
asked  me  if  I  thought  Lady  C —  C —  would  marry  Mr.  Ar- 
buthnot.  I  burst  out  laughing,  and  replied,  "First  of  all,  is 
he  so  inclined  ? — I  believe  not.  And  secondly,  I  know  Lady 
is  not  inclined,  either  for  lovers  or  matrimony,  at  pre- 
sent." 

The  Princess  then  held  Lady  C —  C —  very  cheap,  and 
returned  to  the  old  story.  It  is  difficult  to  say  to  any  per- 
sons that  one  thinks  their  principles  libertine,  or  rather  that 
they  have  no  principles  at  all :  but  I  told  Her  Royal  High- 
ness, that  I  knew  Lady would  never  be  made  happy  by 

any  illicit  attachment,  and  that  the  sting  of  what  she  con- 
ceived guilt,  and  the  anxiety  of  concealment,  would  always 
make  her  wretched.  To  this  the  Princess  replied, — "  Mar- 
ried love  never  lasts  ;  dal  is  not  in  de  nature."  I  confessed 
that  I  had  seldom  or  ever  known  it  to  do  so ;  but  that  even 
were  it  the  case,  and  that  a  married  woman  found  herself 
obliged  to  resign  the  sweet  illusions  of  passion,  she  had  yet 
the  sober  consolations  of  esteem  from  others — of  the  applause 
and  consideration  of  the  world — above  all,  the  inward  peace 
of  self-satisfaction;  whereas,  a  woman  who  was  a  mistress, 
was  always  in  danger  of  losing  her  lover,  and  with  him 
she  lost  every  thing  besides.  To  this  Her  Royal  Highness 
had  nothing  to  reply.  I  spoke  merely  as  to  the  worldly  con- 
sideration of  the  subject,  for  I  knew  that  view  of  the  matter 
would  weigh  most  with  her.     1  do   not  think  she  likes   me 

when  I  speak  thus.     I  assured  her,  Lady was  sincere 

in  her  principles  ;  but  she  hopes  she  is  not  stedfast  in  them. 

Thursday. — Yesterday  Mr.  Arbuthnot,  Mr.  Ward,  Mr. 
Luttrett,  Mr.  Gell,  Mr.  N 1,  Mr.  Fox,  and  Lady  Char- 
lotte Lindsay  dined  at  Kensington  ;  of  all  these  persons,  Mr. 
Gell  is,  I  believe,  my  favourite ;  I  think  he  is  really  good, 
and  I  cannot  like  any  one  long,  that  has  not  that  stable  foun- 
dation whereon  to  rest.  The  conversation  was  of  that  kind 
which  most  delights  the  Princess — brilliant,  evanescent,  and 
devoid  of  reflection — a  sort  of  sparkling  fire  which  only 
makes  darkness  visible — this  it  is  which  moves  the  muscles 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  101 

of  the  face  to  laughter,  but  never  dilates  the  heart  with  real 
joy.  If  flattery  could  delight,  I  had  enough  of  it ;  but  it  has 
ceased  to  charm  me — for  it  is  only  intoxicating  when  one  can 
bear  its  trophies  to  the  feet  of  a  beloved  object,  as  an  of- 
fering to  its  merits  ;  'tis  nothing  when  it  is  an  idle  gratifica- 
tion of  selfish  pleasure.     Mr.  N 1  is  a  fat,  fubsy  man, 

very  like  a  white  turkey-cock — but  he  is  a  good  musician, 
reads  music  at  sight,  and  sings  correctly.  Mr.  Fox  is  a  little 
hideous  black  man  who  is  called  clever,  perhaps  only  be- 
cause he  bears  that  name,  though  I  am  tempted  to  give  him 
credit  for  somewhat  of  reality,  though  it  is  only  upon  credit, 
for  I  never  heard  him  say  anything  that  could  sanction  the 
belief.  Of  all  that  was  said,  I  only  remember  that  these  per- 
sons praised  Lord  Byron's  English  Bards  and  Scotch  Re- 
viewers, and  declared  they  were  surprised  it  had  not  made 
more  noise,  as  it  was  the  cleverest  thing  that  ever  was  written. 

This  backed  Lady  M 's  opinion — they  added  that  it  was 

the  more  wonderful  it  should  be  so,  because  his  "  Hours  of 
Idleness"  was  remarkably  weak  and  poor.* — It  is  curious  to 
hear  all  the  different  opinions  that  people  give  of  each  other. 

On  Saturday,  Lord  L n  dined  here,  he  hates  Lord  H , 

and  there  appears  to  be  no  love  lost  between  them.  I  like 
the  latter  much  the  best;  he  says,  Lady  E.  B —  is  an  impu- 
dent, forward  girl,  that  pursued  Lord  H —  a  toute  outrance, 
who  declares  openly  that  he  does  not  mean  to  have  anything 
to  do  with  her ; — I  believe  both  these  assertions  to  be  true. 

People  say  that  the  unfortunate  King  may  linger  much 
longer,  but  that,  whenever  the  Prince  does  come  to  the  throne, 
he  will  make  no  change  in  the  administration,  and  that  he 
will  also  totally  abandon  the  Catholic  question,  in  spite  of 
having  promised  to  support  it ; — that  his  conduct  will  raise  a 
rebellion,  and  that  it  is  what  ministers  wish,  because  it  will 
give  them  an  opportunity  to  act  with  greater  rigour,  and  by 
violence  to  extirpate  the  Roman  Catholics,  or  at  least  their 
tenets,  altogether.  Others  say,  that  as  this  is  impossible,  it 
will  only  breed  a  civil  war.  There  was  much  talk  yesterday 
at  dinner  about  Mr.  Greville;  the  Princess  hates  him;  she 
says,  he  is  so  mischievous  and  so  tattling ;  she  added,  "  I  could 
forgive  him  for  anything  he  said  of  myself,  because  I  have 

*  The  "  weakness  and  poorness'*  of  Lord  Byron  was  the  strength  and 
riches  of  other  men;  he  might  have  laughed  those  to  scorn  who  spoke 
thus  of  him. 

9* 


102  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

good  broad  shoulders;  but  be  calls  my  daughter  an  aban- 
doned little  tiling,  and  d — n  me  [she  often  swears  that  oath,] 
if  ever  he  shall  meet  her  in  this  house  again.  The  case  vas, 
you  see,  that  Mr.  Greville  abuse  all  the  Royal  Family  to  her, 
vich  vas  a  great  impertinence  as  I  should  say,  and  she,  poor 
little  ting,  vanted  to  excuse  deni ;  so  wen  Mr.  Greville  in  his 
wisdom  said  it  was  pity  de  Duke  should  have  his  mistress 
here,  vare  de  princesse  was,  she  aunswered,  'Oh  Lord  upon 
us,  vat  would  you  have ;  de  Dukes  cannot  marry,  dey  must 
love  somebody' — it  would  have  been  better  had  my  daughter 
said,  as  one  should  say,  dat  is  a  subject  on  which  I  never 
speak,  but  she  is  a  young  ting,  and  not  prepared  for  such 
matters. — No,  no,  let  us  speak  no  more  of  Mr.  Greville,  'tis 
such  an  unpleasant  subject." 

Montague  House. — I  arrived  at  three,  found  nobody  but 

old  J :   the  horrid   din   continued   till  five,  then  eating, 

then  din  again  till  dinner  at  seven — I  think  my  ears  never 
underwent  such  martyrdom.  After  dinner,  again  the  musie  was 
continued  till  ten  without  ceasing:  he  was  then  dismissed, 
and  I  was  kept  till  two  in  the  morning:  the  Princess  told  me, 
"  that  every  tiling  was  going  on  as  she  wished,  that  they 
were  playing  her  game,  that  she  had  the  cards  in  her  own 
hands,"  and  a  great  many  more  mystical  nothings  with 
which  she  deceives  herself,  and  fancies  she  deceives  others. 
The  only  facts  I  could  catch  hold  of,  were  that  Lady  de  Clif- 
ford had  resigned,  and  that  the  Duchess  of  Leeds  was  pro- 
posed to  succeed  her  as  governess  to  Princess  Charlotte,  but 
that  she  (the  Princess  of  Wales)  as  well  as  Lady  de  Clifford, 
had  advised  the  young  Princess  never  to  allow  another 
governess  to  come  near  her;  a  piece  of  advice,  I  conclude, 
which  tallies  too  well  with  her  own  inclinations  for  her  to 
disregard  it.  What  interest  Lady  de  ClifTord  could  have  in 
this  advice,  I  know  not,  unless  it  were  the  vanity  of  saying 
"  Princess  Charlotte  never  had  any  governess  after  me." 
Then,  continued  her  Royal  Highness,  "Mr.  Brougham  has 
written  me  a  letter  of  twelve  pages,  which,  as  soon  as  he 
returns  to  town,  when  Parliament  meets,  I  am  to  send  to  the 
Regent  and  the  Chancellor,  respecting  my  cruel  situation, 
and  my  not  being  permitted  to  see  my  daughter,— to  which 
letter  he  must  give  some  answer;  but  1  have  taken  care  to 
write  a  copy  of  it  to  the  Ministers  also,  well  knowing  that 
he  would  put  the  paper  in  his  pocket  and  never  say  more 
about  it." — I  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  bow,  and  listen.     "Oh! 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  103 

my  dear there  will  be  such  a  crash!"     "I  trust  it  will 

be  all  for  the  best,"  said  I.     "  Nothing  can  be  worse,"  said 

she.     "  Oh  !  my  dear  ,"  resumed  the  Princess,  after  a 

short  pause,  "there  is  all  sort  of  tracasseries  at  Lee."  Of 
that  I  had  no  doubt. — Such  jealousies  and  quarrellings,  Lady 
Anne  fighting  with  Lady  Perceval — the  one  supporting  the 
Sapios,  the  other,  that  is  Lady  Anne,  wishing  to  turn  them 
out  of  the  seminary — then  the  young  Miss  Guiu  making 
love  to  the  young  captain:  and  the  old  man  in  a  fury,  and 
the  young  lover  mighty  cool. — "  Lady  A.,"  said  the  Princess, 
"  is  very  much  attached  to  me,  and  has  many  good  qualities, 
but  has  a  love  of  meddling,  and  prying,  and  managing,  and  a 
want  of  tact  I  cannot  endure.  And,  in  short,  'tis  nothing  but 
little  things,  but  in^little  things  she  is  constantly  doing  what 
is  disagreeable,  and  there  is  not  a  hole  or  corner  into  which 
she  dops  not  follow  me— she  has  such  a  manque  de  facte, 
that  she  wears  me  to  death — no,  I  could  not  suffer  it  long." — 
"I  wonder  your  Royal  Highness  did  not  tell  her  of  your 
dislike  to  have  any  one  in  your  apartment." — "No,  my  dear 

,  I  showed  it  to  her,  but,  to  say  get  out,  I  could  not." 

This  was  spoken  with  real  good  nature. 

I  was  unwilling  to  add  my  mite  of  disapprobation  against 
the  poor  Lady  A.,  and  said  what  I  could  in  her  favour — and 
the  Princess  replied,  "If  I  had  a  house  in  town,  it  would  be 
very  different.     None  of  my  ladies  should  live  in  my  house, 

I  would  give  Lady  C.  L ,  and   Lady  C.  C ,  a  house 

each  of  their  own,  and  this  would  be  a  good  excuse  never  to 
have  the  ladies  I  do  not  like,  as  well  as  Lady  C.  L.  and  Lady 
C.  C,  except  at  dinner." — Her  Royal   Highness  said  many 

kind    things    about    myself    and    my    own    concerns she 

praised  those  1  love,  and  promised  never  to  forget  the  little 
services  they  had  rendered  her.  "  You  shall  see,  the  instant 
I  have  any  thing  in  my  power."  One  must  not,  however, 
put  one's  trust  in  princes;  and  though  I  believe  her  Royal 
Highness  intends  to  do  what  she  says,  I  fear  perhaps  her 
opinions  may  change,  when  she  has  the  power  of  doing  what 
she  now  wishes. 

Sunday. — After  luncheon  I  accompanied  the  Princess  (at- 
tended by  her  Lady  in  waiting)  to  town,  to  the  Duchess  of 
Brunswick's.  The  Duke  of  Gloucester  was  there ;  he  re- 
ceived the  Princess  very  heartily ;  party  as  well  as  interested 
views,  perhaps,  of  the  highest  kind,  may  influence  him ;  but 


lOt  MEMOIKS    OF    THE 

from  all  I  can  learn  he  is  a  good  man,  and  has  the  upright 
solid  hasis  of  religion  and  virtue  which  distinguished  the  poor 
fallen  Monarch.  The  conversation  between  these  three  royal 
personages  put  me  exactly  in  mind  of  the  Margravine  of 
BareitlCs  Memoirs,  and  I  think  all  accounts  of  courts  and 
the  petty  transactions  therein,  must  have  precisely  the  same 
stamp.  The  old  Duchess  talked  chiefly  of  the  Queen  and 
the  Princesses  having  visited  her — upon  which  her  daughter, 
the  Princess  of  Wales,  addressed  herself  as  loud  as  she  could 
across  her  mother  to  the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  not  liking  to 
hear  her  enemies,  as  she  conceives  them,  so  dwelt  upon,  and 
with  such  complacency. — Then  they  talked  of  the  death  of 
Lady  Ailesbury,  and  immediately  of  who  would  get  her  place 
in  this  ivorld;  then  of  the  death  of  a  Mrs.  Fielding,  and  who 
would  get  her  place — upon  which  the  Princess  of  Wales 
rolled  her  eyes  in  signal  of  being  weary ;  though,  in  talking 
of  the  places  she  intends  to  bestow  if  ever  she  has  the  power, 
she  is  not  at  all  aware  that  to  those  not  particularly  on  the  look- 
out, it  must  be  equally  tiresome. — Then  they  mentioned  the 
New  Theatre,  and  the  Duke  said,  "  nobody  but  Mr.  Whit- 
bread  could  have  done  so  clever  a  thing."  "  Why,"  said 
the  old  Duchess,  "  is  he  an  architect  ?  I  thought  he  was 
only  a  brewer." — Not  so  bad  that, — but  she  meant,  in  the 
simplicity  of  her  heart,  merely  to  say,  "  how  the  Devil  got 
the  apple  in?"* — Duke — "  No  ma'am,  only  no  one  but  he 
could  have  had  so  much  taste  and  ingenuity."  Then  their 
Royal  Highnesses  made  a  joke  on  the  conveniences  attached 
to  the  private  boxes;  after  which  the  conference  broke  up — 
the  kiss  of  peace  was  given,  and  the  Princess  came  back 

here. — On    the    way,    Lady    A was    started    as    fresh 

game.      "  Think,  my  dear ,  of  another  petitesse.     Miss 

R.  was  with  me,  and,  talking  of  masters,  observed  that  she 
could  not  afford  them  here  as  she  could  abroad,  which  she 
regretted.  '  Now,'  said  she,  '  I  want  to  have  such  a  master 
for  such  a  thing — but  it  costs  so  much.'     '  Oh  !'  said  Lady 

A .  '  there's  Mr.  Bolton,  the  best  man  in  the  world,  and 

so  eheap,  only  five  shillings  a  lesson.'  Accordingly  Miss  R. 
had  this  master,  but  found  out  that  he  had  three  or  four 
guineas'  entrance  money,  which  Lady  A.  had  never  men- 
tioned. Accordingly  she  wrote  to  the  latter  to  mention  the 
circumstance,  and  to  say  she  could  not  employ  him.     Upon 

*  Vide  Peter  Pindar. 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  105 

which  Lady  A.  asks  me  to  pay  de  tree  guineas.  Can  you 
conceive  !  I  say,  '  oh  !  yes,  to  be  sure,'  but  I  link  de  thing 
has  not  de  sens  commun,  for  why  should  I  pay  de  masters 
of  all  de  misses  ?" 

I  quite  agreed  with  her  Royal  Highness  in  the  meanness 
of  such  contrivances. 

After  dinner,  the  Princess  received  a  letter  from  the  Princess 
Charlotte,  who  told  her  she  had  written  to  the  Prince  her 
father,  refusing,  but  in  a  very  respectful  manner,  to  have  any 
more  governesses,  and  gave  the  Princess  of  Wales  an  account 
of  a  dispute  she  had  had  with  the  Queen  and  her  Aunts  about 
it.  The  Princess  of  Wales  was  in  the  third  heaven  of  de- 
light.— Her  Royal  -Highness  showed  me  Mr.  Brougham's 
letter,  which  she  is  copying,  that  it  may  go  to  the  Prince. 
It  is  a  most  capital  letter,  setting  forth  her  wrongs,  and,  pro- 
viding the  basis  be  solid  upon  which  it  is  founded,  her  cause 
must  be  secure.  No  petulance,  no  anger,  but  dignity,  ten- 
derness, and  propriety.  Then  what  may  they  not  answer? 
They  may  say  it  is  all  true,  if  so,  and  so,  and  so  were  not ; 
but  if  so,  and  so,  and  so  is,  why  then  so,  and  so,  and  so  is 
justice,  and  not  injustice, — and  all  this  depends  on  this  so 
and  so  being  proved,  or  disproved.  God  grant  all  may  be 
for  the  best. 

Tuesday,  12th. — I  received  Walter  Scott's  Rokeby.  I 
gazed  at  it  with  a  transport  of  impatience,  and  began  reading 
it  in  bed.  I  am  already  in  the  first  canto : — my  soul  has 
glowed  with  what  he  justly  terms  "  the  art  unteachable." 
My  veins  have  thrilled  ;  my  heart  has  throbbed ;  my  eyes 
have  filled  with  tears — during  its  perusal.  The  poet  who 
can  thus  master  the  passions  to  do  his  bidding,  must  be 
indeed  a  poet.* 

Wednesday,  13th. — The  Princess  came  to  me  yesterday 
in  a  great  bustle,  as  though  she  were  "  big  with  the  fate  of 

*  Walter  Scott ! — There  is  a  magic  in  the  name,  which  arrests  the 
pen,  and  almost  makes  it  sacrilege  lo  write  one  word  which  can  disparage 
the  chivalric  character  of  his  glorious  memory.  Cut  truth  must  be 
told  : — he  behaved  ill  to  a  woman  ! — and  that  woman  her  who  was  to 
he  his  queen  !  From  having  literally  sat  at  her  feet — from  having  in 
one  of  the  most  spirited  of  his  songs,  expressed  devotion  to  her  cause, 
he  suddenly  veered  round  to  (he  Regent,  and  never  after  testified  the 
slightest  remembrance  of  his  having  once  courted  her  favour. — Verily  he 
had  his  reward  ! 


106  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

Cato  and  of  /to/ne."  She  had  received  another  letter  from 
her  daughter: — such  a  character;  such  firmness;  such  deter- 
mination !  She  was  enchanted.  The  Prince  had  been  with 
the  Chancellor  to  Windsor,  and,  in  presence  of  the  Queen, 
demanded  what  she  meant  by  refusing  to  have  a  governess. 
She  referred  him  entirely  to  her  letter, — upon  which  the 
Queen  and  her  father  abused  her,  as  being  an  obstinate,  per- 
verse, headstrong  girl. — "  Besides,"  said  the  Prince,  "  I 
know  all  that  passed  in  Windsor  Park ;  and  if  it  were  not  for 
my  clemency,  I  would  have  shut  you  up  for  life. — Depend 
upon  it,  as  long  as  I  live  you  shall  never  have  an  establish- 
ment, unless  you  marry."* 

"  Charlotte  never  spoke,  or  moved  a  muscle,"  said  the 
Princess  of  Wales  :  "  and  the  Prince  and  the  Chancellor  de- 
parted as  they  came,  but  nothing  could  be  more  determined 
or  immoveable  than  she  was  ; — in  short,  we  must  frighten 
the  man  into  doing  something,  otherwise  he  will  do  nothing; 
and  if  mother  and  daughter  cannot  do  this,  nothing  can. — On 
Sunday  I   shall  send  my  letter — but  I   do  not  think  gentle 

means  will  ever  avail. — If  we  were  in  past  times "  and 

her  Royal  Highness  looked  quite  fearful  as  she  spoke  ! 

I  know  not  what  to- reply,  when  she  talks  thus.  What  I 
think  is  most  likely  to  ensue — and  I  fear  'tis  what  is  best — 
is,  that  she  will  be  set  aside  entirely  as  a  factious  spirit,  dan- 
gerous to  the  peace  of  the  country. 

Yet,  after  such  a  conversation  as  the  above,  her  Royal 

Highness  could  begin  squalling  with  S and  forget  her 

cares  and  vital  interests,  in  the  amusement  of  frightening 
the  air  with  horrible  sounds  till  past  one  in  the  morning  ! — 
'Tis  wonderful ! — After  all,  what  right  has  the  Princess 
Charlotte  to  disobey  her  father  ?  Those  persons  who  are 
never  governed  are  not,  surely,  fit  to  govern  others. 

1  am  agitated  for  the  consequences  of  the  intrigues  that  are 
going  on.  I  am  sincerely  attached  to  the  Princess  Charlotte, 
but  I  shrink  from  being  obliged  to  say,  "  very  firm,  and  very 
fine,"  when  I  think,  "  very  obstinate,  and  very  wrong- 
headed." — If  she  is  without  shame,  or  fear  of  God  or  man  at 
seventeen,  what  is  to  become  of  her — of  us  ?     Hearing  of 

*  Princess  Charlotte's  firmness  of  character  in  this  instance,  amounted 
to  nothing  more  than  the  obstinacy  of  a  child  who  wishes  to  escape  all 
wholesome  restraint:  and  whoever  countenanced,  or  advised  her  to  act 
thus,  was  much  to  blame. — It  was  a  pity  her  mother  upheld  her  in  this 
rebellious  conduct. 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  107 

crooked  ways  and  mean  policy  disgusts  me,  and  creates  a 
tremor,  as  though  I  were  surrounded  by  a  parcel  of  opera 
devils,  shaking  their  resin  torches  in  my  face. 

Thursday,  14th. — T.  Campbell  accompanied  me  by  invi- 
tation to  see  her  Royal  Highness-  I  had  to  lecture  and  pre- 
pare him  for  what  he  was  to  hear,  and  what  he  must  reply ; 
and  he  followed  my  directions,  and  did  not  misbehave. 
About  seven  o'clock,  a  messenger  arrived  from  Princess 
Charlotte,  which  occasioned  a  great  bustle,  and  some  tears 
to  the  Princess  of  Wales,  who  is  in  despair,  for  the  young 
Princess  consents  to  receive  the  Duchess  of  Leeds  as  her 
governess,*  after  ali  her  violent  objections  to  do  so.  This 
circumstance  decided  the  Princess  of  Wales  on  sending  off 
her  own  letter  directly  to  the  Regent  per  messenger.!  How 
far  this  sudden  and  premature  disposal  of  her  letter  may  suit 
Mr.  Brougham's  intentions,  I  know  not.  Mais  la  bombe  est 
partie,  and  the  mine  is  sprung.  I  fear  all  it  will  produce, 
will  perhaps  be,  an  order  to  shut  her  up  in  some  close  con- 
finement, and  allowing  her  to  see  nobody.  Sometimes  I 
hope  the  best,  but  oftener  fear  the  worst  for  this  poor  woman. 

Friday,  15th. — To-day  the  Princess  received  an  answer 
from  Lord  Liverpool — only  a  few  lines, — returning  her  let- 
ter to  the  Regent  unopened,  and  saying,  that  he  was  com- 
manded by  the  Prince  to  inform  her  Royal  Highness,  that, 
having  some  years  ago  declared  he  never  would  receive  any 
letter  or  paper  from  the  Princess,  his  Royal  Highness  in- 
tended to  adhere  to  that  determination  ;  and  so  ended  all  the 
hopes  and  fears  her  packet  had  created.  It  seems  to  me  that 
the  Prince  does  not  mean  violently  to  attack  her,  for  here  a 
fair  opportunity  presented  itself,  and  was  not  seized  upon  ; 
but  that  he  intends  to  let  the  Princess  be  forgotten,  and  to  lay 
her  by  upon  the  shelf  of  oblivion.  1  fear  parliament  will  do 
much  the  same. — She,  however,  does  not  anticipate  this. 
Princes  have  little  idea,  and  can  have  little,  of  the  very  small 
importance  of  their  interests  and  petty  intrigues  out  of  the 

*  The  Duchess  of  Leeds  was  an  excellent  quiet  character,  bent  upon 
fulfilling  her  duty,  but  not  suited  to  the  stormy  spirits  with  whom  she 
had  to  deal.  And  yet,  perhaps,  the  quiet,  humble  agents  of  royal  esta- 
blishments are  less  likely  to  do  mischief  than  those  whose  natures  are  of 
different  mould,  and  who  take  an  active  part  in  the  scene. 

f  Why  so  1 


108  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

immediate  circle  of  their  influence;  in  England  especially, 
where  even  the  reigning  monarch  is  merely  a  chief  magistrate, 
under  the  authority  of  laws  which  he  cannot  overpass. 

Whenever  there  was  a  storm  brewing,  or  actually  raging, 
then  the  poor  Princess  was  comparatively  happy:  like  all 
restless  spirits,  she  hoped  that  "  it  is  an  ill  wind  which  blows 
nobody  good  :" — she  was  sure  to  be  the  person  who  would 
derive  benefit  from  the  tempest. — But  whenever  there  came  a 
calm,  then  she  had  nothing  to  do  ;  and,  after  being  accus- 
tomed to  live  in  a  state  of  excitement — being  now  let  down 
to  the  quietude  of  common  life — she  suffered  the  depression 
a  man  feels  who  is  recovering  from  intoxication. 

After  receiving  this  answer,  her  Royal  Highness  was  in 
very  low  spirits  for  a  short  time;  but  no  one  feeling  lasts 
long — and,  to  do  her  justice,  she  has  an  indigenous  courage 
and  cheerfulness  of  disposition,  which  no  provocations  or 
vexations  can  wholly  subdue.  Had  this  princess  been  other- 
wise nurtured  and  brought  up — had  she,  when  first  she  came 
to  this  country,  found  a  husband  at  once  strict  and  fond — how 
different  a  person  she  might  have  been !  Her  good  qualities 
fostered,  her  evil  ones  restrained — her  mind  softened  by  cul- 
tivation, her  manners  regulated  by  decorum — what  might  she 
not  have  been  ?  But  she  came  from  a  court  sufficiently  base 
in  its  principles,  to  another,  where  the  unfortunate  state  of 
the  best  of  monarchs  occupied  all  the  thoughts  and  time  of 
his  devoted  consort,  and  the  royal  family,  and  left  her  an  un- 
protected prey  to  the  person  who  was  the  mistress  of  her 
husband ! — To  those  who  knew  the  Princess  in  the  first  days 
of  her  arrival  in  Britain,  and  the  set  by  which  she  was  sur- 
rounded, it  must  ever  be  apparent,  that  all  her  subsequent 
faults  and  follies  admitted  of  great  extenuation. 

Saturday,  16th.— The  Princess  told  me  a  strange  circum- 
stance, which  lias  lately  come  to  her  knowledge,  namely, 
that  the  editor  of  the  Star,  a  Scotchman,  whose  name  she 
forgot,  told  Lord  Perceval,  that  when  the  paragraph  announc- 
ing the  publication  of  the  letters  came  out,  Mr.  Macmahon 
went  to  the  editor  of  the  Star,  and,  giving  him  a  scurrilous 
piece  of  abuse  about  the  Princess,  desired  him  to  put  it  in 
his  paper.  The  former  refused,  saying  it  was  actionable; 
and  then  Mr.  Macmahon  offered  any  sum  to  the  man,  to 
bribe  him,  which  he  equally  spurned  and  rejected.     What 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  109 

meanness !     How  these  histories  make  one  feel  the  littleness 
•of  human  beings ! 

I  walked  to  Lee.  The  day  was  fine,  and  I  had  not  felt 
the  fresh  air  blow  on  me  so  long,  that  it  seemed  redolent  of 
life,  and  health,  and  peace,  if  not  of  joy  and  youth.  There 
are  past  days  we  mark  in  the  calendar  of  our  thoughts  by  the 
strong  sensations  we  have  felt,  while  others,  that  have  been, 
perhaps,  replete  with  incident — which,  in  the  common  opi- 
nion, ought  to  have  been  more  interesting,  have  never  once 
returned  to  our  thoughts.  Among  the  former  of  these  days 
was  one  when,  a  year  ago,  I  had  taken  the  same  walk  to 
Lee,  and  when  the  same  spirit  moved  within  me  to  see  and 
feel — a  joy  I  could  Hot  tell.  This  is  a  doubling  of  existence  :  . 
it  is  a  foretaste  of  the  pure  pleasures  which  will  be  for  us  in 
an  hereafter.  The  very  nature  of  such  sensations  is  an  im- 
pulse of  "  praise — it  is  a  joy  that  cometh  from  above." 

Mr.  L.  walked  home  with  me :  he  is  one  of  those  beings 
whom  one  trusts  upon  credit,  and  to  whom  we  are  assured 
we  are  agreeable,  by  those  indefinable  marks  of  courtesy  and 
kindness  which  aie,  after  all,  the  surest  proofs  of  genuine 

good  will — at  least  at  the  moment.     He  talked  to  me  of ; 

praised,  and  praised  in  a  way  to  please :  he  laid  the  unction 

of  flattery  to  my  soul: — I  denied  the  charge  of  being but 

I  fear  I  did  not  do  so  to  the  purpose. — I  never  was  made  for 
any  concealment;  partly  through  weakness,  partly  through 
the  sincerity  of  my  nature. — What  I  love,  I  like  to  talk  of, 
and  I  should  like  those  I  love  to  talk  of  me. 

Sunday,  17th. —  Lady  De  Clifford  came  and  told  the 
Princess  all  the  story  of  the  Regent's  scolding  Princess  Char- 
lotte over  again,  and  repeated  what  he  had  said  in  respect  to 
her  never  having  an  establishment  till  she  married.  He  had 
also,  she  said,  called  her  a  fool,  and  used  other  violent  lan- 
guage. The  Chancellor  told  the  Princess  Charlotte,  that  if 
she  had  been  his  daughter,  and  had  written  him  such  a  letter, 
he  would  have  locked  her  up  till  she  came  to  her  senses — 
"  Rather  violent  language,"  said  Lady  De  Clifford,  "  for  a 
coal-heaver's  son  to  the  future  queen  of  England."  Of  course, 
there  were  many  epithets  bestowed  upon  the  Duchess  of 
Leeds,  such  as  "  weak  woman,"  and  a  "  pinchbeck  duchess," 
&c,  &c.  Old  Lady  De  Clifford  was  very  furious,  and  the 
Princess  delighted  at  her  for  so  being — but  observed  to  me 
after  she  was  gone,  that  in  her  place  she  never  would  have 

Vol.  I.  10 


110  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

taken  the  salary.  I  agreed.  "  Besides,"  said  the  Princess, 
"  the  nation  would  have  done  something  for  her,  and  it  would 
have  been  in  a  more  honourable  way."  It  is  supposed  by 
this  party,  that  the  Duchess  of  Leeds  has  been  placed  by  the 

recommendation  of  Mrs.  Nugent,  through  the  Duke  of  C . 

Princess  M.,  it  is  said,  tells  every  thing  to  the  Prince  Regent, 
and  Princess  S.  is  the  one  that  does  exactly  what  Princess 
Charlotte  chooses.  The  Prince  had  written  a  very  cold  letter 
to  Lady  De  Clifford,  who  had  also  written  one,  as  cold,  in 
reply. 

This  evening,  there  came  a  letter  from  Mr.  Brougham,  de- 
siring her  Royal  Highness  to  send  her  letter  again  to  the 
Chancellor  and  Lord  Liverpool,  and  command  them,  as  Lord 
Keeper,  &c,  to  lay  her  petition  before  the  Prince  :-r— it  seems 
they  are  by  Jaw  obliged  to  do  this.  The  Princess  has  done 
so  accordingly,  and  wrote  in  her  own  name.  Lord  Liver- 
pool's answer  was,  that  he  would  go  to  the  Chancellor  with 
her  Royal  Highness's  letter  as  she  desired. — What  will  be 
the  result?     I  am  anxious  to  know. 

Tuesday  19th* — Campbell,  the  poet,  came  to  see  me.  His 
conversation  always  awakens  thought  and  feeling  :  every  thing 
that  is  his  own,  is  elegant  and  enthusiastic*  He  understands 
not  the  Princess  any  more  than  if  he  were  a  native  of  some 
unknown  land,  and  I  doubt  whether  he  would,  even  were  I 
to  sit  down  and  spell  her  a  b  c  d  to  him,  which  is  impossible. 

Another  letter  came  to  her  Royal  Highness  from  Mr. 
Brougham,  which  was  only  a  repetition  of  that  she  received 
from  him  the  day  before  : — but  she  made  one  of  her  ladies 
answer  it,  standing  by  and  dictating  a  thousand  trivial  circum- 
stances, without  order  or  arrangement,  and  sometimes  so  con- 
fusedly, that  Lady scarcely  knew  whether  the  letter  was 

intelligible  or  not.  Campbell  and  myself  talked  apart,  when 
we  could. 


*  Why  sleeps  the  muse  of  Campbell  ?  Why  does  party  politics 
usurp  her  rightful  throne  in  his  breast,  and  drag  him  down  to  earth ; — 
he  who  should  be  on  airy  pinions  soaring  ]  When  I  hear  of  him,  im- 
mersed in  dinners,  and  meetings,  and  popular  assemblies,  it  is  as  of  one 
not  done  honour  to,  but  debased. — To  be  made  the  penny  trumpet  of 
faction,  instead  of  commanding  the  voice  of  Fame  to  sound  her  paans 
with  his  name,  is  selling  his  birthright  for  a  mess  of  pottage. 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  Ill 

Wednesday,  20th. — The  Princess  received  a  letter  from 
Lord  Liverpool,  saying  the  Lord  Chancellor  and  himself  had 
never  refused  to  be  the  channel  of  communication  for  any 
thing  the  Princess  might  wish  to  have  presented  to  the  Re- 
gent's ear;  but  that  it  rested  with  his  Royal  Highness  in 
what  mode  he  would  receive  such  a  communication  ;  and  that 
his  Royal  Highness  still  adhered  to  his  determination  of  not 
receiving  any  letter  whatever  from  the  Princess  of  Wales. — 
Accordingly,  her  letter  was  returned. 

In  answer  to   this,  the  Princess  commanded  the  lady  in 

waiting  to  wiite  as  follows  : — "  Lady  is  commanded 

by  her  Royal  Highness  the  Princess  of  Wales,  to  desire 
Lord  Liverpool  and  the  Lord  Chancellor  will  read  her  Royal 
Highness's  letter  to  the  Prince  Regent  without  delay,  since 
his  Royal  Highness  adheres  to  his  determination  of  not  re- 
ceiving   any    direct   communication    from    the    Princess    of 

Wales."     Lady told   me,  she   always   regretted  when 

she  had  to  write  such  letters  as  these  in  her  name  ;  but  royal 
servants  Ought  to  be  considered  as  mere  automatons. 

The  Princess  expected  Mr.  Brougham  to-day,  but  he  did 
not  come.  Tn  the  evening,  amongst  other  topics  of  conver- 
sation, she  said  to  me,  "  Oh,  my  dear  Lord,  if  you  were  to 
see  all  the  curious  papers  I  have  ! — 1  have  a  correspondence 
that  passed  between  Bonaparte  and  Prince  Louis  Ferdinand, 
before  the   first  was    emperor. — It   would    make    the    world 

stare  ;   and   if  it   had  not   been  for  that ,   the  King  of 

Prussia,  Prince  Louis  would  now  have  been  king  of  France. 
The  fact  was,  Prince  Louis  was  the  cleverest  and  the  first 
man  in  the  world  ;  and  Bonaparte,  at  that  time,  did  not  want 
to  be  emperor — he  only  wanted  to  choose  a  proper  king. 
Well,  the  King  of  Prussia,  from  his  foolish  notions  about  the 
Bourbons,  seized  upon  and  locked  up  Prince  Louis.  Oh,  my 
dear,  how  different  would  have  been  my  fate,  and  that  of  all 
Europe,  if  this  had  not  been  the  case."  How  far  the  above 
is  true,  Heaven  knows  ;  but  it  is  curious  ! 

Thursday,  21st. — Mr.  Brougham  arrived  :  his  manner  en 
impose  a  la  Princesse,  and  it  is  lucky.  I  think  from  all  the 
little  circumstances,  known  only  to  myself  and  one  other 
person,  that  he  never  meant  to  dash  in  so  far  as  he  has  been 
obliged  to  do  in  this  business.  He  only  intended,  I  believe, 
to  place  the  ladder  against  the  wall,  on  which  to  mount  when 


112  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

it  was  safely  held  ;  but  not  to  find  himself,  as  he  does  now, 
half  way  up  while  it  is  tottering ; — to  make  her  a  tool  of  his 
party — yes,  and  not  to  act  dishonourably  either — but  certain- 
ly not  to  run  any  risks  for  her  sake.  Unhappy  kings,  queens, 
princes,  and  princesses,  ye  are  seldom  served  with  any  better 
feeling  than  this. 

He  told  the  Princess,  that  he  and  Mr.  Whitbread  both 
agreed  in  thinking  that  it  was  a  most  fortunate  circumstance 
for  her  that  the  Regent  had  refused  to  read  or  receive  her 
letter  ;  and  that  it  must  go,  failing  all  other  ways,  in  the  shape 
of  a  petition  to  him — last  of  all  as  a  petition  to  Parliament — 
"But  they  are  frightened  to  death,"  said  Mr.  Brougham,  "  I 
know,  for  Lord  Moira  has  been  sent  to  Whitbread  to  tell  him 
that  the  Regent  being  afraid  he  may  have  been  led  into  error 
respecting  the  Princess,  wished  to  submit  some  papers  to 
him."  This  message  by  the  by  came  from  Sheridan,  who 
came  from  Lord  Moira.  Mr.  Whitbread  said  he  could  not 
then  stay  in  town  to  read  papers,  but  that  he  should  return  in 
a  few  weeks,  and  that  if  they  thought  it  worth  their  while 
they  might  then  give  him  the  papers,  but  he  was  sure  they 
contained  nothing  but  what  he  knew  already. — Sheridan 
began  explaining,  and  in  fact,  Mr.  Brougham  said,  the  papers 
by  his  account  were  merely  those  which  the  Princess  has  in 
her  possession. — Another  circumstance  is,  that  Mr.  Conant, 
the  police  magistrate,  went  to  Messrs.  Longman  and  Rees, 
and  asked  what  they  meant  by  the  paragraph  they  had  put  in 
the  newspapers,  concerning  a  publication  of  letters.  Messrs. 
Longman  and  Rees  replied,  that  they  meant  what  the  para- 
graph specified, — upon  which  Mr.  Conant  threatened  them 
with  the  law  and  foretold  their  ruin,  and  the  Lord  knows 
what, — but  Messrs.  Longman  and  Rees  replied,  they  should 
take  care  not  to  publish  any  thing  actionable,  and  as  for  the 
rest,  thev  should  follow  their  trade. 

Mr.  Brougham  then  went  over  the  old  ground,  but  said 
positively  that  till  the  Princess  Charlotte  was  one  and  twenty, 
the  Prince  might  even  lock  her  up,  if  he  chose,  and  had  abso- 
lute power  over  her, — how  far  the  country  would  allow  of 
such  treatment,  is  another  question.  I  thought  to  myself,  as 
to  that,  it  is  the  interest  of  all  those  in  power  to  vest  as  much 
as  they  can  in  the  Regent's  hands,  and  consequently  I  have 
but  a  hopeless  kind  of  view  of  the  whole  of  this  business. 
In  as  far  as  the  Princess  of  Wales  is  concerned, — they  will 
not  dare  to  do  any  thing  outrageous  against  her,  but  they  will 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  113 

keep  the  extinguisher  over  her.  Mr.  Brougham  staid  a  couple 
of  hours,  and  went  away  :  the  Princess  is  never  satisfied,  till 
she  has  drained  a  subject  dry;  so  she  was  very  angry  at  his 
going  so  soon, — but  I  perceive  he  keeps  her  in  order — how 
fortunate  ! 

EXTRACT  FROM  A  LETTER. 

Friday,  January  22d,  1813. 
I  am  indeed  anxious  on  the  subject  of  this  unfortunate  busi- 
ness, and  hope  that  the  Princess  will  be  well  advised,  before 
things  are  brought  to  extremity.  Ministers,  it  is  clear,  will 
not  bring  forward  any  thing  that  is  not  agreeable  to  the  Prince 
Regent,  and  if  opposition  should  attempt  it  at  this  time,  it 
would  be  easy  to  give  the  whole,  the  turn  of  a  party  question. 
This  I  have  little  doubt,  but  that  the  ministry  would  do,  and 
would  succeed  in,  and  then  things  would  remain  where  they 
are,  with  the  additional  stigma  of  having  been  attempted  to 
be  redressed  in  vain.  I  am  not  saying  what  ought  to  be,  but 
what  I  fear  would  be.  Indeed,  I  have  lived  long  enough  in 
the  world  to  have  learnt,  that  how  others  will  consider  an 
object,  is  the  question  in  all.  public  matters  where  their  con- 
currence is  required,  not  how  we  see  it,  however  truly,  our- 
selves. Tell  me,  if  you  know,  what  is  to  be  done  about  the 
drawing-room  on  the  4th, — and  what  the  paragraph  means, 
saying  that  the  Princess  Charlotte  is  to  be  presented  by  the 
Princess  of  Wales.  I  think  she  can  be  presented  by  no  other 
person  than  her  mother,  and  I  suppose  that  therefore  she  will 
not,  this  time,  be  presented  at  all !  am  I  right  ?  It  is  the  gene- 
ral voice  that  the  Princess  Charlotte  feels  all  the  duty  and 
affection,  that  she  ought  to  feel  towards  her  mother,  also  that 
she  has  declared  that  unless  she  is  presented  to  the  Queen  by 
her  mother,  she  will  not  be  presented  at  all." 

Saturday,  23d. — Yesterday  I  went  to  see  ;  all  was 

well,  even  to  her  animals.  AVhat  cause  of  thankfulness! — 
the  vacuum  in  my  existence,  which  one  only  circumstance 
can  fill,  still  exists,  and  a  low  languor  enfeebles  body  and 
mind, — but  I  hope, — nay,  I  am  not  ungrateful  for  the  bless- 
ings given. — The  Princess  received  a  letter  of  twenty-eight 
pages,  from  the  Princess  Charlotte,  which  looked  like  the 
writing  of  a  chambermaid,  and  appeared  to  me  wholly  illegi- 
ble ;  but  she  said  she  could  decipher  it,  and  so  she  did  in  re- 

10* 


114  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

gard  to  understanding  the  general  meaning,  but  I  defy  her 
powers  or  her  patience  to  have  made  out  literally,  what  those 
twenty-eight  pages  contained  ; — the  whole  of  the  matter  was, 
that  Princess  Charlotte  was  to  remain  in  town,  from  Satur- 
day to  Wednesday;  from  which  the  Princess  of  Wales  con- 
cluded, that  she  is  to  go  to  the  Opera  to-night,  and  intends  if 
she  does  to  go  also.  There  came  likewise  accounts  of  Miss 
Knight's  having  accepted  the  place  of  sub-governess,  which 
the  royal  mother  and  daughter  are  very  glad  of.  The  same 
post  that  brought  all  this  intelligence,  brought  a  letter  also 
from  Lady  Oxford,  and  the  Princess  decided  upon  setting  off 
immediately,  to  go  to  Mortimer  House.  Accordingly,  though 
her  Royal  Highness  had  not  been  out  for  a  fortnight,  off  she 
went,  and  her  lady  in  waiting  told  me,  when  they  arrived 
they  found,  as  the  Princess  predicted,  no  one,  except  Lord 
Byron.  'Tis  sickening  to  hear  of  and  see  the  ways  of  the 
world.  The  Princess  immediately  retired  with  Lord  Byron 
and  Lord  Oxford,  and  her  lady  staid  with  Lady  Jane, — the 
latter  is  a  good  musician,  but  sings  dreadfully  out  of  tune. 
Lady told  me  that  she  thought  Lord  Byron  was  exceed- 
ingly wearied,  and  endeavoured  to  listen  to  the  music,  and  es- 
cape from  her  Royal  Highness  and  Lady  O ,  but  the  former 

would  not  allow  him  to  do  so,  and  he  was  desired  to  "  come 
and  sit ;"  and  upon  the  whole,  the  Princess  was  not  pleased 
with  her  visit. 

Sunday,  24th. — Yesterday,  the  Princess  went  to  meet  the 

Princess  Charlotte  at  Kensington.     Lady told  me  that 

when  the  latter  arrived  she  rushed  up  to  her  mother,  and 
said,  "  for  God's  sake,  be  civil  to  her,"  meaning  the  Duchess 

of  Leeds,  who  followed  her.     Lady said  she  felt  sorry 

for  the  latter,  but  when  the  Princess  of  Wales  talked  to  her, 
she  soon  became  so  free  and  easy  that  one  could  not  have 
any  feeling  about  her  feelings.  Princess  Charlotte,  I  was 
told,  was  looking  handsome,  very  pale,  but  her  head  more 
becomingly  dressed,  that  is  to  say,  less  dressed  than  usual; 
her  figure  is  of  that  full  round  shape  which  is  now  in  its 
prime, — she  disfigures  herself  by  wearing  her  boddice  so 
short,  that  she  literally  has  no  waist;  her  feet  are  very  pretty 
and  so  are  her  hands  and  arms,  and  her  ear  and  the  shape 
of  her  head, — her  countenance  is  expressive,  when  she  allows 
her  passions  to  play  upon  it,  and  I  never  saw  any  face  with 
so  little  shade  express  so  many  powerful  and  varied  emotions. 


TINES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  115 

Lady told  me  that  the  Princess  Charlotte  talked  to  her 

about  her  situation,  and  said,  in  a  very  quiet,  but  determined 
way,  she  would  not  bear  it,  and  that  as  soon  as  Parliament 
met,  she  intended  to  come  to  Warwick  House,  and  remain 
there ;  that  she  was  also  determined  not  to  consider  the 
Duchess  of  Leeds  as  her  governess,  but  only  as  her  first 
lady, — she  made  many  observations  on  other  persons  and 
subjects,  and  appears  to  be  very  quick,  very  penetrating,  but 
imperious,  and  wilful ;  there  is  a  tone  of  romance  too  in  her 
character,  which  will  only  serve  to  mislead  her. 

She  told  her  mother,  that  there  had  been  a  great  battle  at 
Windsor  between  the  Queen  and  the  Prince;  the  former 
refusing  to  give  up  Miss  Knight  from  her  own  person,  to 
attend    on    Princess^  Charlotte    as   sub-governess, — but    the 

Prince  R 1,  had  gone  to  Windsor  himself  and  insisted  on 

her  doing  so,  and  the  "  Old  Beguin"  was  forced  to  submit, — 

hut  has  been  ill  ever  since,  and  Sir  H H d  declared 

it  was  a  complete  breaking  up  of  her  constitution, — (to  the 
great  delight  of  the  two  Princesses  who  were  talking  about 

this  affair.)     Miss  K was  the  very  person  they  wished 

to  have;  they  think  they  can  do  as  they  like  with  her.*  It 
has  been  ordered  that  the  Princess  Charlotte  should  not  see 
her  mother  alone  for  a  single  moment;  but  the  latter  went  into 
her  room,  stuffed  a  pair  of  large  shoes  full  of  papers,  and 
having  given  them  to  her  daughter,  she  went  home.     Lady 

told  me  every  thing  was  written  down  and  sent  to  Mr. 

Brougham  next  day. — There  are  in  the  newspapers,  daily 
long  histories  written,  with  intention  to  inflame  the  public 
with  an  idea  of  the  Princess's  wrongs,  and  above  all  to 
make  it  clear  that  Princess  Charlotte  could  reign  to-morrow, 
if  any  circumstance  was  to  unfit  her  father  for  so  doing; — 
this  is  the  great  point  with  the  party  out  of  office — and  which 
the  men  of  ambition  want  to  establish,  in  order  to  raise  them- 
selves.    True  patriotism,  true  knight-errantry,  where  is  it? 

*  In  this  idea,  their  Royal  Highnesses  were  much  mistaken;  for  Miss 

K was  a  person  of  uncompromising  integrity  and  steady  rectitude 

of  conduct.  A  devoted  royalist,  but  not  a  sycophant — no  one  has  proved 
more  than  she  has  the  fallaciousness  of  court  favour.  The  Queen  Char- 
lotte never  forgave  her,  for  having  left  her  service  to  attend  the  young 
Princess  Charlotte,  and  the  Regent  afterwards  dismissed  her  in  an  unjust 
manner,  from  the  post   in  which  he  had  himself  placed  her,  and  which 

every  one  who  knows  Miss  K ,  is  confident  she  never  was  unworthy 

of.     The  memoirs  of  all  courts  furnish  similar  instances  of  ingratitude. 


116  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

There  are  few  minds  good  enough,  great  enough,  to  entertain 
either  of  these  sentiments, — as  to  Brougham,  I  am  more  and 
more  convinced  that  he  never  meant  to  have  risked  what  he 
has  done, — he  is  a  man  of  inordinate  ambition,  and  I  fear  of 
little  heart,  indeed  in  most  cases,  the  former  generally  usurps 
every  affection. 

Tuesday,  26th. — I  saw    Bessie  R n  and  her  mother. 

The  first  is  a  very  beautiful  and  superior  creature,  the  lattter 
lives  but  in  her  daughter,  and  would  be  a  cypher  without 
her. 

Thursday,  27th. — I  dined  at  Blackheath.  Old  Sapio  was 
there,  and  the  Princess  sung,  or  rather  squalled.  Of  course, 
those  who  live  much  with  her  Royal  Highness  must  see  how 
matters  go  on;  it  is  a  great  pity  she  should  be  surrounded 
by  such  society;  it  does  her  infinite  harm. 

Saturday. — I  accompanied  the  Princess  to  the  British  In- 
stitution;  there  were  not  many  fine  pictures.  One  subject, 
taken  from  Scripture,  that  has  been  bought  by  Lord  Stafford 
for  eight  hundred  guineas,  the  painter's  name,  Edward  Bird, 
the  subject  the  death  of  Eli,  pleased  me  most,  and  I  liked 
some  of  Barker's,  particularly  a  woman  perishing  in  the 
snow,  with  her  baby,  and  Tarn  O'Shanter,  the  horse  very 
good,  by  Cooper. 

The  letter  has  been  read  to  the  Prince  Regent.  His  Royal 
Highness  is  not  pleased  to  give  any  answer  whatever,  says 
my  Lord  Liverpool.     What  is  to  be  done  now  :   Brougham 

seems  to  be  at  a  stand  still;  the  R s  tell  me  that  what  the 

Prince  is  determined  to  try  for,  is  a  divorce;  I  hardly  think 
that  he  will  though. — Princess  Charlotte  would  be  furious, 
for  fear  of  his  marrying  agiin  and  having  a  son,  and  putting 
her  off  the  throne.  The  game  of  change  seats,  the  King's 
coming  is  what  she  would  not  at  all  enjoy,  therefore  she 
would  naturally  make  a  strong  party  to  prevent  this,  and 
many  persons  dissatisfied  with  the  Prince  would  side  with 
her,  not  from  any  other  motive  but  self-love — 'tis,  alas!  the 
most  powerful  one  with  the  geneiality  of  mankind.  Besides, 
he  dare  not, — the  clean  hands  are  wanting. 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  117 


EXTRACT  FROM  A  LETTER. 

Date,  6th  February,  1813,  Saturday. 
"I  went  last  night  to  Carlton  House;  all  very  magnificent, 
but  such  a  lack  of  young  dancing  men,  and  indeed  women! 
that  I  quite  pitied  the  Princess  Charlotte  for  the  dulness  of 
the  ball — such  it  appeared  to  me — what  must  it  not  have  ap- 
peared to  youth  ! — and  intelligent  youth  !  I  think  her  quite 
charming,  and  in  all  respects  as  to  appearance  far  exceeding 
whatever  I  hau  heard  of  her.  I  much  regretted  not  having 
it  in  my  power,  in  any  way  to  make  myself  known  to  her, 
for  possibly  I  should  have  received  a  gracious  word  or  so. 
But  I  was  very  near  her  often  and  could  therefore  make  all 
my  observations ;  her  manner  seems  open,  frank,  and  intelli- 
gent; she  will  captivate  many  a  heart  or  I  am  much  mistaken. 
I  think  her  like  both  the   Prince  Regent  and   the  Princess  ; 

she  danced  with  the  Duke  of  C ,  that  is,  began  the  ball 

with  him — but  of  that  you  will  hear  more  than  I  can  tell 
you.  Lord  Holland  was  there  at  a  very  short  notice,  as  he 
told  me,  also  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  Lord  Tavistock,  (at  least 
I  saw  Lady.)  Lord  Cowper,  Lord  Jersey  ;  I  think  not  many 
more  opposition  lords." 

Thursday,  11th  of  February. — The  circle  of  the  Princess's 
acquaintance  and  attendants  grows  smaller  every  day,  and  I 
fear  will  at  length  degenerate  wholly  into  low  company.  The 
Oxford  and  Burdett  party  prevail. 

12th  of  February,  1813. — To-day,  the  Princess  received 
the  following  letter  from  Lord  Liverpool: — "Lord  Liverpool 
has  the  honour  to  inform  her  Royal  Highness  that  in  conse- 
quence of  the  publication  in  the  Morning  Chronicle  of  the 
10th  instant,  of  a  letter  addressed  by  her  Royal  Highness  the 
Princess  of  Wales  to  the  Prince  Regent,  his  Royal  Highness 
thinks  fit,  by  the  advice  of  his  confidential  servants,  to  signify 
his  command  that  the  intended  visit  of  the  Princess  Charlotte 
to  her  Royal  Highness  the  Princess  of  Wales  on  the  follow- 
ing day,  shall  not  take  place. 

"  Lord  Liverpool  is  not  enabled  to  make  any  further  com- 
munication to  her  Royal  Highness,  on  the  subject  of  her 
Royal  Highness's  note." 

Dated,  Fife  House,  12th  February,  1313. 


118  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

To  which  the  Princess  sent  the  following  reply :  "Lady  A. 
H.  is  commanded  by  her  Royal  Highness  the  Princess  of 
Wales,  to  represent  to  Lord  Liverpool  that  the  insidious  in- 
sinuation respecting  the  publication  of  the  letter  addressed  by 

the  Princess  of  Wales  to  the  Prince  R 1  on  the   12th  of 

January,  conveyed  in  his  lordship's  reply  to  her  Royal  High- 
ness, is  as  void  of  foundation,  and  as  false,  as  all  the  former 
accusations  of  the  traducers  of  her  Royal  Highness's  honour 
in  the  year  1806. 

"  Lady  A.  is  further  commanded  to  say,  that  dignified 
silence  would  have  been  the  line  of  conduct  the  Princess 
would  have  pursued  upon  such  insinuation,  (more  than  unbe- 
coming Lord  Liverpool,)  did  not  the  effects  arising  from  it 
operate  to  deprive  her  Royal  Highness  of  the  only  real  hap- 
piness she  can  possess  in  this  world,  that  of  seeing  her  only 
child;  and  the  confidential  servants  of  the  Prince  Regent 
ought  to  feel  ashamed  of  their  conduct  towards  the  Princess, 
in  advising  his  Royal  Highness  the  Prince  Regent,  upon  an 
unauthorized  and  unfounded  supposition,  to  prevent  mother 
and  daughter  from  meeting,  a  prohibition,  as  positively 
against  the  law  of  nature,  as  against  the  law  of  the  land. 

"Lady  A.  is  further  commanded,  to  desire  Lord  Liverpool 
to  lay  this  paper  before  the  Prince  Regent,  that  his  Royal 
Highness  may  be  aware  into  what  error  his  confidential  ser- 
vants are  leading  him,  and  will  involve  him,  by  counselling 
and  signifying  such  a  command." 

Dated,  "  Montague  House,  15th  Feb.  1813." 

It  is  scarcely  possible  to  read  this  composition  without 
laughing.  There  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  authors,  and  it  cer- 
tainly does  not  do  much  credit  to  their  literary  or  rational 
powers.  One  might  have  supposed  that  all  resentment  must 
have  given  way,  on  its  perusal,  to  the  more  pleasurable  sen- 
sation of*  laughter.  How  that  was  cannot  be  known,  as  no 
one  was  present  when  Lord   Liverpool  received  it,  or  made 

known  its  contents  to  the  R 1  (if  he  ever  did  so).    To  be 

serious,  how  lamentable  that  the  Princess  should  have  been 
betrayed  by  passion  to  trust  herself  or  her  scribes  to  commit 
such  egregious  folly,  and  to  act  in  matters  of  such  import- 
ance without  consulting  those  persons  in, whom  she  partially 
placed  confidence.  It  was  this  partial  and  not  entire  confi- 
dence on  her  part  which  so  often  brought  them,  as  well  as 
herself,   into   great   difficulties — and   with  justice  disgusted 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  119 

those  whose  interest  it  was  to  serve  her.  There  had  evi- 
dently been  some  hocus  pocus  about  the  premature  publica- 
tion of  the  above  letter  in  the  Morning  Chronicle;  and  the 
whole  business  had  been  ill  conducted. 


COPY  OF  HER  ROYAL  HIGHNESS'S  LETTER. 

"THE   PRINCESS  OF  WALES  TO  HIS  ROYAL   HIGHNESS 
THE  PRINCE  REGENT. 

"  14th  of  January,  1813. 

"  Sir, — It  is  with  great  reluctance,  that  I  presume  to  ob- 
trude myself  upon  your  Royal  Highness,  and  to  solicit  your 
attention  to  .matters  which  may,  at  first,  appear  rather  of  a 
personal  than  a  public  nature.  If  I  could  think  them  so — if 
they  related  merely  to  myself,  I  should  abstain  fiom  a  pro- 
ceeding which  might  give  uneasiness  or  interrupt  the  more 
weighty  occupations  of  your  Royal  Highness's  time.  I 
should  continue  in  silence  and  retirement  to  lead  the  life 
which  has  been  prescribed  to  me,  and  console  myself  for 
the  loss  of  that  society  and  those  domestic  comforts  to  which 
I  have  been  so  long  a  stranger,  by  the  reflection  that  it  has 
been  deemed  proper  I  should  be  afflicted,  without  any  fault 
of  my  own,  and  that  your  Royal  Highness  knows  it. 

"  Hut,  Sir,  there  are  considerations  of  a  higher  nature  than 
any  regard  to  my  own  happiness,  which  render  this  address 
a  duty  both  to  myself  and  my  daughter.  May  I  venture  to 
say,  a  duty  also  to  my  husband,  and  the  people  committed 
to  his  care  ?  There  is  a  point  beyond  which  a  guiltless 
woman  cannot  with  safety  carry  her  forbearance ;  if  her 
honour  is  invaded,  the  defence  of  her  reputation  is  no  longer 
a  matter  of  choice ;  and  it  signifies  not  whether  the  attack  be 
made  openly,  manfully,  and  directly,  or  by  secret  insinuations 
and  by  holding  such  conduct  towards  her  as  countenances  all 
the  suspicions  that  malice  can  suggest.  If  these  ought  to  be 
the  feelings  of  every  woman  in  England  who  is  conscious 
she  deserves  no  reproach,  your  Royal  Highness  has  too 
sound  a  judgment  and  too  nice  a  sense  of  honour  not  to  per- 
ceive how  much  more  justly  they  belong  to  the  mother  of 


120  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

your  daughter — the  mother  of  her  who  is  destined,  I  tsust  at 
a  very  distant  period,  to  reign  over  the  British  empire. 

"  It  may  be  known  to  your  Royal  Highness,  that  during 
the  continuance  of  the  restrictions  upon  your  royal  authority, 
I  still  was  inclined  to  delay  taking  this  step,  in  the  hope  that 
I  might  owe  the  redress  I  sought  to  your  gracious  and  unso- 
licited condescension.  I  have  waited,  in  the  fond  indulgence 
of  this  expectation,  until,  to  my  inexpressible  mortification, 
I  find,  that  my  unwillingness  to  complain  has  only  produced 
fresh  grounds  of  complaint,  and  I  am  at  length  compelled 
either  to  abandon  all  regard  for  the  two  dearest  objects  which 
I  possess  on  earth, — mine  own  honour  and  my  beloved  child, 
or  to  throw  myself  at  the  feet  of  your  Royal  Highness,  the 
natural  protector  of  both. 

"  I  presume,  Sir,  to  represent  to  your  Royal  Highness, 
that  the  separation,  which  every  succeeding  month  is  making 
wider,  of  the  mother  and  the  daughter,  is  equally  injurious  to 
my  character  and  to  her  education.  I  say  nothing  of  the 
deep  wounds  which  so  cruel  an  arrangement  inflicts  upon  my 
feelings,  although  I  would  fain  hope,  that  few  persons  will 
be  found  of  a  disposition  to  think  lightly  of  these.  To  see 
myself  cut  ofT  from  one  of  the  very  few  domestic  enjoyments 
left  me — certainly  the  only  one  upon  which  I  set  any  value — 
the  society  of  my  child — involves  me  in  such  misery,  as  I 
well  know  your  Royal  Highness  never  could  inflict  upon  me, 
if  you  were  aware  of  its  bitterness.  Our  intercourse  has 
been  gradually  diminished  —  a  single  interview,  weekly, 
seemed  sufficiently  hard  allowance  for  a  mother's  affections, 
that,  however,  was  reduced  to  our  meeting  once  a  fortnight, 
and  I  now  learn,  that  even  this  most  rigorous  interdiction  is 
to  be  still  more  rigidly  enforced.  But  while  I  do  not  venture 
to  intrude  my  feelings  as  a  mother  upon  your  Royal  High- 
ness's  notice,  I  must  be  allowed  to  say,  that  in  the  eyes  of 
an  observing  and  jealous  world,  this  separation  of  a  daughter 
from  her  mother  will  only  admit  of  one  construction — a  con- 
struction fatal  to  the  mother's  reputation.  Your  Royal  High- 
ness will  also  pardon  me  for  adding,  that  there  is  no  less  in- 
consistency than  injustice  in  this  treatment.  He  who  dares 
advise  your  Royal  Highness  to  overlook  the  evidence  of  my 
innocence,  and  disregard  the  sentence  of  complete  acquittal 
which  it  produced,  or  is  wicked  and  false  enough  still  to 
whisper  suspicions  in  your  ear,  betrays  his  duty  to  you,  Sir, 
to  your  daughter,  and  to  your  people,  if  he  counsels  you  to 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  121 

permit  a  day  to  pass  without  a  further  investigation  of  my 
conduct.  I  know  that  no  such  calumniator  will  venture  to 
recommend  a  measure  which  must  speedily  end  in  his  utter 
confusion.  Then,  let  me  implore  you  to  reflect  on  the  situa- 
tion in  which  I  am  placed,  without  the  shadow  of  a  charge 
against  me, — without  even  an  accuser — after  an  inquiry  that 
led  to  my  ample  vindication,  yet  treated  as  if  I  were  still 
more  culpable  than  the  perjuries  of  my  suborned  traducers 
represented  me,  holding  me  up  to  the  world  as  a  mother  who 
may  not  enjov  the  society  of  her  only  child. 

"The  feelings,  Sir,  which  are  natural  to  my  unexampled 
situation,  might  justify  me  in  the  gracious  judgment  of  your 
Royal  Highness,  hail  I  no  other  motives  for  addressing  you 
but  such  as  relate  to  myself.  The  serious,  and  soon,  it  may 
be,  the  irreparable  injury  which  my  daughter  sustains  from 
the  plan  at  present  pursued,  has  done  more  in  overcoming 
my  reluctance  to  intrude  upon  your  Royal  Highness  than  any 
sufferings  of  my  own  could  accomplish.  And  if  for  her  sake 
I  presume  to  call  away  your  Royal  Highness  from  the  other 
cares  of  your  exalted  station,  I  feel  confident  I  am  not  claim- 
ing this  for  a  matter  of  inferior  importance,  either  to  yourself 
or  your  people. 

"  The  powers  with  which  the  constitution  of  these  realms 
vests  your  Royal  Highness  in  the  regulation  of  the  royal 
family,  I  know,  because  I  am  so  advised,  are  ample  and  un- 
questionable. My  appeal,  Sir,  is  made  to  your  excellent 
sense  and  liberality  of  mind  in  the  exercise  of  those  powers, 
and  I  willingly  hope,  that  your  own  parental  feelings  will 
lead  you  to  excuse  the  anxiety  of  mine  for  impelling  me  to 
represent  the  unhappy  consequences  which  the  present  sys- 
tem must  entail  upon  our  beloved  child. 

"  Is  it  possible,  Sir,  that  any  one  can  have  attempted  to 
persuade  your  Royal  Highness  that  her  character  will  not  be 
injured  by  the  perpetual  violence  offered  to  her  strongest 
affections — the  studied  care  taken  to  estrange  her  from  my 
society,  and  even  to  interrupt  all  communication  between  us? 
That  her  love  for  me,  with  whom,  by  his  Majesty's  wise  and 
gracious  arrangements,  she  passed  the  years  of  her  infancy 
and  childhood,  never  can  be  extinguished,  I  well  know,  and 
the  knowledge  of  it  forms  the  greatest  blessing  of  my  exist- 
ence. But  let  me  implore  your  Royal  Highness  to  reflect 
how  inevitably  all  attempts  to  abate  this  attachment  by  forci- 

VOL.  I.  1  1 


122  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

bly  separating  us,  if  ihey  succeed,  must  injure  my  child's 
principles — it'  they  fail,  must  destroy  her  happiness. 

"  The  plan  of  excluding  my  daughter  from  all  intercourse 
with  the  world  appears,  to  my  humble  judgment,  peculiarly 
unfortunate.  She,  who  is  destined  to  be  the  sovereign  of  this 
great  country,  enjoys  none  of  those  advantages  of  society, 
which  are  deemed  necessary  for  imparting  a  knowledge  of 
mankind  to  persons  who  have  infinitely  less  occasion  to  learn 
that  important  lesson;  and  it  may  so  happen,  by  a  chance 
which  1  trust  is  very  remote,  that  she  should  be  called  upon 
to  exercise  the  powers  of  the  crown,  with  an  experience  of 
the  world  more  confined  than  that  of  the  most  private  indi- 
vidual. To  the  extraordinary  talents  with  which  she  is 
blessed,  and  which  accompany  a  disposition  as  singularly 
amiable,  frank,  and  decided,  I  willingly  trust  much;  but  be- 
yond a  certain  point,  the  greatest  natural  endowments  cannot 
struggle  against  the  disadvantages  of  circumstances  and  situa- 
tion. 

"  It  is  my  earnest  prayer,  for  her  own  sake  as  well  as  for 
her  country's,  that  your  Royal  Highness  may  be  induced  to 
pause  before  this  point  be  reached. 

"  Those  who  have  advised  you,  Sir,  to  delay  so  long  the 
period  of  my  daughter's  commencing  her  intercourse  with  the 
world,  and,  for  that  purpose,  to  make  Windsor  her  residence, 
appear  not  to  have  regarded  the  interruptions  to  her  education 
which  this  arrangement  occasions,  both  by  the  impossibility 
of  obtaining  proper  teachers,  and  the  time  unavoidably  con- 
sumed in  the  frequent  journeys  to  town  which  she  must 
make,  unless  she  is  to  be  secluded  from  all  intercourse,  even 
with  your  Royal  Highness  and  the  rest  of  the  royal  family. 
To  the  same  unfortunate  counsel  I  ascribe  a  circumstance,  in 
every  way  so  distressing,  both  to  my  parental  and  religious 
feelings,  that  my  daughter  has  never  yet  enjoyed  the  benefit 
of  confirmation,  although  above  a  year  older  than  the  age  at 
which  all  the  other  branches  of  the  royal  family  have  par- 
taken of  that  solemnity.  May  I  earnestly  conjure  you,  Sir, 
to  hear  my  entreaties  upon  this  serious  matter,  even  if  you 
should  listen  to  other  advisers  on  things  of  less  near  concern- 
ment to  the  welfare  of  our  child. 

"The  pain  with  which  I  have  at  length  formed  the  resolu- 
tion of  addressing  myself  to  your  Royal  Highness  is  such,  as 
I  should  in  vain  attempt  to  express.  If  1  could  adequately 
describe  it,  you  might  be  enabled,  Sir,  to  estimate  the  strength 


TIMES   OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  123 

of  the  motives  which  have  made  me  submit  to  it ;  they  are 
the  most  powerful  feelings  of  affection,  and  the  deepest  .im- 
pressions of  duty  towards  your  Royal  Highness,  my  beloved 
child,  and  the  country,  which  I  devoutly  hope  she  may  be 
preserved  to  govern,  and  to  show,  by  a  new  example,  the 
liberal  affection  of  a  true  and  generous  people  to  a  virtuous 
and  constitutional  monarch. 

"  I  am,  Sir,  with  profound  respect, 
"  And  an  attachment  which  nothing  can  alter, 
"  Your  Royal  Highness's 
"  Most  devoted  and  most  affectionate 

"  Consort,  Cousin,  and  Subject, 

"CAROLINE  LOUISA. 
"  Montague  House,  14th  January,  1813." 

This  is  a  letter  in  masquerade,  forced  and  unnatural.  It  is 
difficult  to  say  who  was  its  author.  It  bears  the  marks  of 
being  the  composition  of  more  than  one  writer.  It  would  be 
convincing,  were  it  sincere,  but  it  is  sneering  and  insincere. 
On  a  cursory  reading,  it  appears  dignified  and  temperate,  but 
there  is  an  under  current  in  every  sentence  which  might  be 
construed  into  a  totally  different  meaning  from  that  which  it 
conveys  on  its  surface.  Upon  the  whole,  it  appears  to  me 
to  have  been  more  likely  to  give  offence  and  irritation,  than 
to  obtain  any  favour  by  conciliation  and  entreaty.  The  latter 
part,  most  especially,  is  Jesuitical  and  dictatorial  :  it  is  one 
thing  to  ask  a  favour,  another  to  demand  a  right ;  it  is  one 
thing  to  set  forth  a  moral  right,  another  a  legal  claim  ;  it  is 
one  thing  to  sue  as  a  wife,  another  to  command  as  a  queen. 
How  difficult  to  join  these  different  claims  and  make  them 
coalesce  ! 

But  in  this  instance,  as  in  most  others,  the  happiness  and 
welfare  of  the  individual  was  lost  sight  of,  and  she  was  the 
tool  of  a  party.  Yet  it  is  just  possible,  that  whoever  drew 
up  this  document  (destined  hereafter  to  be  recorded  in  the 
page  of  history)  had  a  feeling  of  interest  and  compassion  for 
the  unhappy  woman  whose  cause  it  professed  to  espouse, — 
only  that  feeling  was  subservient  to  their  own.  But  there  is 
seldom  any  unmixed  motive  to  instigate  human  actions — the 
bad  or  the  good  may  predominate,  but  they  are  both  there, 
and  are  generally  so  commixed,  that,  till  time  has  sifted  the 
grain  from  the  chaff,  they  cannot  be  separated. 


124  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

Tuesday. — Mr.  Whitbread  has  made  the  finest  speech  that 
ever  was  heard  ;  most  of  his  auditors  were  in  tears,  (said 
Mr.  Bennet,)  but  all  agreed  in  their  admiration  of  the  manly 
and  forcible  eloquence  he  displayed.  There  was  no  division. 
He  read  a  letter  from  the  Princess  of  Wales  to  the  Prince, 
written  after  what  he  termed  her  last  triumph,  and  written  in 
an  humble  conciliatory  tone,  when  the  news  came  of  another 
secret  investigation  now  going  on,  and  the  pen  fell  from  her 
hands  at  this  intelligence.  The  house  were  all  electrified, 
say  my  informants.  Mr.  Tierney  spoke,  and  Lord  Castle- 
reagh.  The  latter  floundered  deep  in  the  mire  of  duplicity 
and  meanness.  But  Mr.  Canning  made  an  elaborate  speech, 
saying  that  it  were  better  all  this  business  should  end  for 
ever ;  that  the  Princess  was  proved  pure  and  innocent,  but 
that  if  further  private  malice  was  at  work  against  her,  it 
would  then  be  the  duty  of  the  house  to  take  cognizance  of 
the  affair. 


EXTRACT  FROM  A  LETTER,  FROM  THE  HON.  A.  S.  D. 

"  I  consider  Her  Royal  Highness  the  Princess  of  Wales 
being  sent  abroad  without  a  specific  cause,  as  not  only  impro- 
bable but  impossible,  under  our  good  laws  ;  but  I  do  fear  and 
believe  that  some  machinations,  in  the  way  of  trial  and  inves- 
tigation, are  actually  going  on  underhand,  and  that  real  or 
pretended  proofs  of  misconduct  will  be  brought  forward 
against  her.  I  understand  that  she  professes  herself  secure 
in  her  innocence,  and  determined  not  to  give  way  or  make 
compromises,  should  they  be  offered.  How  all  this  will  end 
Heaven   only  knows.*     That  it  may   never  begin,  I   truly 

*  Whether  this  prevalent  report,  respecting  the  machinations  of  the 
secret  tribunal,  was  a  trick  of  party  to  rouse  the  Princess  into  some  im- 
prudent measures,  which  might  have  served  their  ends,  whilst  it  was 
obnoxious  to  her  true  interests,  or  whether  it  really  existed,  and  that  it 
behoved  her  friends  to  guard  her  against  the  net  which  was  outspread  to 
entangle  her,  is  a  question  which  it  is  impossible,  at  this  distance  of  time, 
to  reply  to  with  confidence ;  especially  as  ail  those  persons  who  know 
most  about  the  private  history  of  the  court  of  George  IV.  and  his  queen, 
and  who  possess  papers  and  documents  which  might  bring  foul  and  tair 
to  light,  are,  either  from  fear  or  policy,  or  better  feelings,  obliged  to  re- 
main silent.  There  is  a  great  probability  that  such  a  watch  was  set  on 
the  Princess,  even  then;  but  there  are  also  some  reasons  to  suppose  that 
it  was  the  contrivance  of  a  few  mischievous  persons  who  fancied  they 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  125 

wish  ;  and,  in  any  case,  must  pity  her,  and  that  most  sincere- 
ly, should  she  be  brought  into  trouble,  for  she  certainly  has 
been  hardly  used ;  and,  at  her  first  coming  into  this  country, 
when  she  had  a  right  to  meet  with  every  indulgence  and  pro- 
tection, she  was  vilely  betrayed  by  those  about  her,  who,  I 
am  convinced,  heaped  lies  upon  lies  for  the  worst  and  most 
sordid  purposes  of  their  own.  Imprudent  she  has  been,  no 
one  can  deny;  but  Justice  will  find  much  to  put  in  her  oppo- 
site scale,  should  the  case  come  before  a  tribunal !  Of  her 
being  turned  out  of  Kensington  (for  so,  as  you  say,  it  would 
be)  and  ordered  to  Hampton  Court,  or  worse,  to  Holyrood 
House,  (but  this  latter  only  for  hereafter,)  still  all  is  uncer- 
tain ;  and  I  am  somelimes  inclined  to  hope,  though  I  confess 
with  no  great  reason,  that  this  odious  business  will  be  put  to 
sleep.  Trie  best  thing  for  her,  poor  soul,  would  be  the  im- 
mediate death  of  our  wretched  King,  as  the  moment  that 
event  happens,  (supposing  nothing  previously  has  taken  place 
to  prevent  it,)  she  becomes  queen,  by  the  laws  of  the  land — 
so  Perceval  has  positively  decided ;  and  that  would  be  a 
step,  and  might  make  a  difference  in  her  treatment,  and  be  in 
her  favour.  Now  it  is  thought  that  the  accusations  are  hur- 
rying on  to  prevent  that  happening — I  mean  her  being 
Queen. 

"  It  is  certainly  not  the  factious,  and  the  mob  alone,  who 
espouse  the  Princess's  cause ;  the  sweet  charities  of  life,  the 
protection  of  the  social  rights  of  families,  are  connected  with 
her  wrongs,  and  if  she  is  true  to  her  own  self  duties,  there 
will  be  an  overwhelming  force  of  general  opinion  in  her 
favour." 

The  Princess  is  often  besieged  with  letters,  anonymous 
and  otherwise.  She  showed  me  one  of  the  letters  the  other 
day,  from  a  D.  D.,  signed  with  name,  date,  and  abode.  It 
is  curious,  but  bears  rather  the  appearance  of  being  instigated 
by  private  pique,  than  of  the  spontaneous  emanation  of  any 
genuine  sentiment  of  good  will.     The  letter  was  addressed  to 

were  gaining  favour  with  the  Prince,  by  persecuting  his  wife  to  the  death. 
I  do  not  believe  that  the  Prince  authorized  such  proceedings  at  that 
period,  and  still  less  do  I  believe  that  a  British  public  would  ever  have 
suffered  such  a  stain  to  rest  on  the  national  character,  as  to  allow  a  secret 
inquisition  to  pronounce  an  award  on  the  character,  and  blast  the  happi- 
ness of  any  individual ;  especially  that  of  the  woman  who  was  to  become 
their  Queen. 

11* 


126  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

one  of  the  Princess's  ladies — the  writer  unknown  personally 
to  the  lady. 

"  Madam, — Lord  Eldon  and  his  elder  brother,  Sir  W. 
Scott's  father,  were  fitters  of  ships  in  the  coal  trade  at  New- 
castle.— Money  brought  them  to  Oxford  and  the  law,  when 
no  great  mauvaise  honte  stood  in  their  way ;  nor  can  it  be 
denied  that  sufficient  abilities  in  them,  authorized  their  intro- 
duction in  the  world  by  friends.  Your  Ladyship,  of  whose 
proper  spirit,  together  with  that  of  your  Royal  Mistress,  I 
am  one  amongst  myriads  of  humble  applauders,  would,  as  I 
conceive,  not  object  to  receive  anecdotes  of  the  origin  of  the 
afoie  mentioned  celebrated  friends.  In  the  letter  of  your 
Ladyship's  Royal  Mistress,  I  noticed  the  word  '  suborn,''  and 
am  persuaded  that  many  lose  much,  (and  often  their  lives,)  by 
the  perjury  of  others.  An  oath,  although  authorized  by  the 
religion  of  the  Church  of  England,  was  an  invention  of  the 
Church  of  Rome,  to  increase  the  power  of  the  powerful ;  in 
the  Hebrew  original  of  the  Old  Testament  it  is  not  to  be 
found,  although  it  is  so  in  translations. 

"Christian  governments  have,  unfortunately  for  society, 
armed  its  members  one  against  another  with  this  dangerous 
instrument,  an  oath.  With  those  whose  belief  in  religion  is 
small,  an  oath  is  a  mere  instrument  against  the  enemies  of 
the  individual,  or  of  those  who  can  suborn  him,  or  her;  and 
such  I  should  esteem  Bidgood,  &c,  to  be,  and  would  humbly 
recommend  the  defiance  of  them.  Lord  De  Clifford  as  well 
as  Lord  Liverpool  passed  the  University,  during  my  twenty 
years'  residence  there ;  the  Scotts  are  considerably  my  seniors*. 
The  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  as  superintendent  of  the  education 
of  her  Royal  Highness  the  Princess  Charlotte,  ought  himself 
to  have  confirmed  her  at  the  age  of  fourteen.  A  note  to  the 
Bishop  of  London  from  her  Royal  Highness  requesting  con- 
firmation, preparation  for  which,  should  be  a  knowledge  of 
the  Church  Catechism,  so  as  to  be  able  to  say  it  by  rote, 
could  scarcely  fail  of  being  followed  by  an  appointment  from 
that  prelate  to  attend  a  private  confirmation  in  the  Chapel 
Royal,  when  her  Royal  Highnsss  might  properly  be  accom- 
panied by  her  mother.  1  requested  Lord  De  Clifford,  who 
formerly  knew  me  as  Fellow  of  the  college  in  which  his 
Lordship  was  educated,  to  forward  this  letter  to  your  Lady- 
ship  ;  and  have  the  honour  to  conclude,  with  best  wishes  foE 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  127 

the  cause  and  happiness  of  your  Ladyship's  Royal  Mistress, 
and  respect  for  your  Ladyship, 
"  Madam, 
"  Your  Ladyship's  most  obedient  servant, 

"  D.  D.,  &c.  &c.  &c." 

Wednesday. — I  saw  the  Princess  yesterday  ;  I  fear  she 
has  been  goading  the  sleeping  lion.  However,  I  have  heard, 
that  when  the  Regent  wanted  the  ministers  to  try  for  a  di- 
vorce, they  said  that  was  impossible,  and  that,  if  they 
attempted  it,  they  must  inevitably  lose  their  places.  This 
intelligence  did  not  come  from  the  Princess  or  her  friends,  so 
that,  if  it  is  true,  that  sounds  well  for  her  cause ;  but  every 
thing  that  is  reported  concerning  her  Royal  Highness  one 
day,  is  contradicted  the  next.  Her  first  letter  has  certainly 
produced  a  disposition  in  her  favour  in  the  breasts  of  John 
and  Jenny  Bull  in  the  country,  but  here,  alas,  like  all  other 
things,  it  seems  to  be  a  party  question — with  some  few  ex- 
ceptions— for  some  fair  judging  spirits  do  exist.  I  wish  the 
Letter  to  Lord  Liverpool  had  never  been  sent,  but  that  the 
impudence  of  his  avowal  of  interference  and  advice  on  such 
an  occasion,  and  that  of  the  confidential  ministers,  had  been 
left  to  its  own  punishment.  It  is,  I  think,  quite  clear  that 
nothing  criminal  can  be  proved,  or  most  assuredly  these 
mighty  and  daily  councils  would  not  have  been  able  to  keep 
their  discoveries  so  secret,  but  that  something  must  have 
transpired.  As  nothing  comes  out,  1  feel  secure  that  there  is 
nothing1  to  come  out. 


EXTRACT  OF  A  LETTER. 

"  March  3d,  1813. 
"  Ministers  were  beat  last  night  by  forty  :  so  far  I  sine 
Te  Deum,  but  fear  all  will  be  again  overset  in  the  House  of 
Lords.  The  letter  from  the  Princess  was,  I  understand,  laid 
last  night  before  the  House  of  Commons  by  the  Speaker, 
and,  after  a  little  conversation  between  Mr.  AVhitbread  and 
Lord  Castlereagh,  the  subject  was  dropped — I  conclude  to  be 
resumed  in  future.  The  letter  is  very  good,  whatever  may 
be  the  consequences  :  I  should  suppose  it  must  be  Brough- 
am's, for  it  is  a  simple  and  impressive  law  statement.  The 
general  impression  seems  to  be,  that  the  Princess  has  been 


128  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

harshly  treated  ;  and  it  must  be  allowed  that,  unprotected  as 
she  is,  she  had  no  refuge  but  an  appeal  to  Parliament ;  yet  I 
fear  no  good  purpose  will  be  answered,  and  that  the  material 
point  will  not  be  gained — that  of  seeing  her  daughter  more 
frequently  than  she  has  of  late  been  allowed  to  do."* 


EXTRACT  FROM  ANOTHER  LETTER. 

"March  8th,  1813. 
"  Pray  express  my  most  sincere  congratulations  on  the 
triumph,  the  complete  triumph,  the  Princess  has  so  justly 
obtained.  What  passed  on  Friday  night  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  made  me,  I  confess,  feel  proud  of  my  country  : 
which  has  not  of  late  been  the  case  with  me  !  But  what 
gives  me  the  greatest  satisfaction,  as  far  as  her  Royal  High- 
ness is  concerned,  is  her  most  admirable  letter  to  the  Prince 
in  answer  to  his  of  1796;  that  letter  does  her  more  credit 
than  words  can  express,  and  I  am  heartily  glad  that  it  has 
appeared  at  this  time,  as  I  already  see  the  impression  it 
makes.  For  the  present,  I  do  trust  that  the  Princess  will 
remain  satisfied  with  the  sensation  excited  in  her  favour, 
which  is  what  it  ought  to  be.  By  remaining  satisfied,  I  do 
not  mean  that  she  is  to  seclude  herself  at  Blackheath,  or 
avoid  appearing  as  usual  ;  for  my  part,  I  think  she  should  in 
all  this  just  follow  her  own  inclination  ;  come  to  Kensington, 
go  to  the  theatres,  &c,  &c,  as  she  has  hitherto  done,"  &c. 


EXTRACT  FROM  A  LETTER,  FROM  THE  SAME. 

"  Dated  March  25th,  1813. 
"  I  must  (as  I  hope  at  least)  be  the  first  to  tell  you,  that 
I  have  heard  from  good  authority  that  Sir  John  Douglas  is, 
or  is  immediately  to  be,  expelled  by  the  Freemasons  of  this 
country  from  their  society.  Also,  that  the  Duke  of  Sussex 
has  dismissed  him  from  his  household.  All  this  marks  the 
general  and  honest  indignation  the  conduct  of  these  vile 
sycophants  excites." 


Simple  and  impressive  ! 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  129 


EXTRACT  FROM  A  LETTER  ADDRESSED  TO  ONE  OF 
THE  PRINCESS'S  LADIES. 

"March  26th,  1813. 
"  Though  I  have  not  the  honour  of  being  personally  ac- 
quainted with  your  ladyship,  I  feel  assured  that  the  subject 
which  actuates  this  address  will  form  an  apology  for  the  li- 
berty I  take  in  making  it,  and  claim  your  ladyship's  full  and 
free  pardon,  having  felt  no  less  an  interest  in  it  than  myself. 
On  an  affair  of  so  important  and  interesting  a  nature  as 
that  which  has  recently  been  brought  into  Parliament,  and 
which  has  gained  such  general  attention,  and  from  its  happy 
termination,  such  warm  approbation  and  delight,  it  will  not, 
I  trust,  be  deemed  impertinent  to  make  a  few  remarks.  I 
could  not,  without  subjecting  myself  to  much  pain,  withhold 
expressing  the  enthusiastic  joy   which   the  perusal   of  this 

day's  papers  has  produced.     Will  Lady gratify  the 

feelings  of  a  stranger  by  conveying  to  her  Royal  Highness 
the  Princess  of  Wales,  the  warm  congratulations  of  an  affec- 
tionate heart  on  the  glorious  victory  recently  obtained — a 
heart  that  has  long  been  deeply  wounded  at  the  base  conduct 
of  the  Douglases,  the  vilest  pair  that  England  ever  knew,  and 
who  it  is  ardently  hoped  will  now  receive  their  just  and 
highly  merited  punishment.  Yes,  revered  and  highly  be- 
loved Princess,  the  nation  has  long  felt  your  wrongs  and 
wished  for  redress  ;  power  and  undue  influence  forbade  it, 
until  that  impressive  address  obliged  a  public  avowal  of  your 
innocence  :  excuse  the  freedom  of  my  sentiments,  my  heart 
is  full  and  every  feeling  is  roused.  That  her  Royal  Highness 
may  long  live  to  enjoy  the  society  of  her  beloved  daughter, 
beholding  in  her  every  grace  and  virtue  which  can  adorn  the 
throne  and  secure  the  affections  of  the  nation,  is  the  fervent 
prayer  of  thousands.  It  may  afford  her  Royal  Highness 
some  pleasure  to  be  informed,  that  the  patronage  which  she 
so  graciously  conferred  on  the  National  Benevolent  Institu- 
tion, has  been  highly  beneficial  to  the  charity;  a  respectable 
committee  has  been  formed,  and  subscriptions  are  daily  in- 
creasing. Relying  on  your  ladyship's  forgiveness  for  this 
intrusion,  I  beg  leave  to  subscribe  myself,"  &c. 


130  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

A  LETTER  ADDRESSED  TO  ONE  OF  HER  ROYAL   HIGH- 
NESS'S  LADIES. 

"  March  19th,  1813. 
"  I  do  myself  the  honour  of  writing  to  your  ladyship,  to 
congratulate  you  on  the  pleasure  you  must  have  felt  on  the 
result  of  the  late  debates  in  the  House  of  Commons.  I  see 
a  variety  of  persons,  and  observe  with  gre^t  satisfaction,  that 
there  is  a  general  sympathy  with  the  Princess  of  Wales,  on 
the  cruel  persecution  she  has  undergone;  and  the  complete 
conviction  of  her  Royal  Highness's  perfect  innocence.  Whit- 
bread  has  done  himself  great  honour  by  his  generous  defence 
— he  has  acted  nobly.  I  wish  he  had  been  able  to  crush  the 
vile  snake  whom  her  Royal  Highness  cherished  formerly, 
and  who  so  ungratefully  attempted  to  sting  her  benefactor ; — 
that  wretch  and  her  mate  have  however  covered  themselves 
with  infamy.  May  I  venture  to  ask  the  favour  of  a  few  lines 
from  your  ladyship,  to  inform  me  how  her  Royal  Highness 
endures  these,  which  I  trust  will  be  the  last  efforts  of  calumny. 
It  is  not  from  curiosity  that  I  take  this  liberty,  but  from  the 
sincere  interest  which  I  feel  in  her  Royal  Highness's  wel- 
fare. 

"  I  have  the  honour  to  be,  Madam, 

"  Your  Ladyship's  most  obedient,"  &c.  &c. 

These  letters  have  been  taken  promiscuously  from  the 
upper  and  middling  classes,  and  from  a  large  collection  on 
the  same  subject,  in  order  to  give  an  impartial  idea  of  the 
feeling  which  generally  prevailed  at  that  time  respecting  the 
wrongs  of  the  Princess  of  Wales. 

It  may  be  that  this  was  the  proudest  moment  of  the 
Princess's  troubled  life ;  afterwards,  there  was  more  pomp 
and  greater  public  demonstration  of  feeling  for  her,  but  then 
it  was  a  storm  of  passion  and  of  party,  not  the  sober  current 
of  honest  feelings,  which  moved  justice  to  stand  forth  and 
defend  her. 

May  10th,  1813.— After  all  these  triumphs,  we  are  only 
making  a  charivari  upon  an  old  tin  tea-kettle  of  a  harpsichord. 
Full  of  my  own  feelings,  and  my  own  regrets,  I  yet  could 
enter  into  those  of  others,  if  there  was  uniform  greatness, 
uniform   tenderness,  uniform   anything ; — but  courtly  ways 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  131 

are  not  my  ways,  and  the  unfortunate  Princess  is  so  incon- 
sistent, so  reckless  of  propriety,  so  childishly  bent  on  mere 
amusement,  that  I  foresee  her  enemies  must — and  will  get 
the  upper  hand  ! 

Read  Madame  de  Stael  sur  les  Passions — What  a  wonder- 
ful mind  is  hers  !  what  an  insight  she  has  into  the  recesses 
of  human  feeling.  How  many  secret  springs  does  she  un- 
lock ;  and  how  much  the  woman — the  tender,  the  kind,  the 
impassioned  woman,  betrays  herself  even  in  all  tlie  philoso- 
phy of  her  writings  !  Yet  what  do  my  sex  think  of  a  female 
authoress  ?  With  one  or  two  very  sober,  but  very  great  ex- 
ceptions, it  is  true,  that  where  science  rather  than  imagina- 
tion or  thought  is  displayed,  women  are  sneered  at  who  ven- 
ture on  the  public  arena  of  literature;  and  there  is  not  a  man, 
perhaps,-  existing,  who  does  not  think  that  those  women  are 
wisest  and  happiest  who  do  not  attempt  that  bold  and  dan- 
gerous adventure,  authorship.  I  remember  once  a  great 
friend  of  mine  defended  herself,  (she  being  guilty  of  the 
fact,)  by  asking  me  what  stimulus  to  life  remained  when 
youth  and  outward  charms  were  gone,  but  when  the  affec- 
tions and  the  imagination  were  as  vivid  as  ever,  and  nothing 
was  left  to  supply  the  place  of  that  life  of  life  to  which,  when 
once  accustomed,  it  was  as  impossible  to  live  without  it,  as 
to  live  without  breathing?  "Men,"  she  said,  "have  the 
camp,  the  court,  the  senate,  and  the  field, — but  we — we  have 
nothing  but  thought  and  feeling  left;  and  if  we  are  not  under- 
stood, not  prized  by  those  around  us,  like 

'  Rosa  non  colta  in  sua  stagion,' 
we  scatter  these  thoughts  and  feelings  to  the  wind,  hoping 
they  may  bear  us  back  some  fruitage  of  answering  kind. 
Besides,  there  are  many  other  reasons  which  instigate  wo- 
men to  become  authors.  It  is  not,  as  you  falsely  accuse  us, 
vanity,  or  the  thirst  after  notoriety,  which  prompts  the  deed, 
but  it  is  generally  one  of  two  things — perhaps  both  together — 
either  poverty,  or  the  aching  desire  to  be  appreciated  and 
understood,  even  though  it  may  be  by  some  being  whom  we 
shall  never  see  in  this  world. 

I  was  sent  for  this  day  to  the  palace  at  Kensington,  to 
converse  only  on  one  topic — the  disappointment  the  Princess 
felt  at  having  suddenly  received  a  message,  informing  her 
Lady  Reid's  house  was  not  to  be  let — only  sold.  As  this 
information  came  unexpectedly,  and  after  she  had  concluded 
that  every  arrangement  was  settled,  she  supposes  it  is  a  trick 


132  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

proceeding  from  Carlton  House.  One  might  imagine  such 
meannesses  were  heneath  the  consideration  of  the  adverse 
party  ;  but  I  have  known  so  many  instances  of  similar  little- 
nesses, that  I  should  not  be  surprised  if  this  were  one. 

It  seems  Mr.  Brougham  wrote  to  the  Princess  on  Wed- 
nesday last,  stating,  that  he  had  heard  it  was  the  Regent's 
intention,  the  moment  she  got  a  house  in  town,  to  take  Ken- 
sington, and  all  its  advantages  of  coal  and  candle,  &c,  from 
her,  for  which  reason  he,  (Mr.  Brougham,)  conceiving  this 
would  be  of  great  detriment  to  her  Royal  Highness,  had 
delayed  concluding  the  bargain  about  the  Curzon  Street 
house  ;  and  that  when  he  went  a  few  days  after  on  the  Fri- 
day to  do  so,  he  heard  of  the  new  resolution  which  had  been 
adopted  by  the  late  Lady  Reid's  executors.  What  makes 
this  the  more  unaccountable  is,  that  it  was  specified  in  her 
will,  that  the  house  should  not  be  sold,  but  let  for  twenty 
years,  in  order  that  the  rent  might  accumulate  for  the  benefit 
of  some  near  relation,  and  that  in  consequence  of  the  will, 
the  executors  must  procure  an  act  of  parliament  to  enable 
them  to  break  it.  I  was  requested  privately  (and  this  was 
what  I  was  sent  for)  to  go  secretly  to  another  person,  a  man 
of  business,  and  if  possible,  on  any  terms  whatsoever,  secure 
a  lease  of  the  house. 

This  underhand  manner  of  employing  another  agent,  above 
all  of  making  me  an  instrument  in  the  business,  distressed 
me  greatly  ;  for  not  only  is  it  unadvisable  to  be  insincere, 
and  to  doubt  the  faithfulness  of  any  one  till  he  is  proved 
false,  but  also,  on  the  present  occasion,  it  was  just  possible 
that  Mr.  Brougham  might,  with  the  best  intentions  towards 
the  Princess's  interests,  have  purposely  prevented  her  from 
obtaining  this  house. 

On  the  11th  of  May  I  was  invited  again  to  the  palace. 
The  Princess  informed  me  that  she  was  in  great  hopes  the 
Regent  was  going  to  Hanover.  I  wondered  what  difference 
that  could  possibly  make  to  her.  She  told  me  there  was  to 
be  a  congress  held,  at  which  all  the  potentates  were  to  meet, 
and  that  Bonaparte  was  to  join  them. 

The  Princess  is  dissatisfied  with  her  daughter's  conduct. 
She  wished  that  the  latter  should  have  had  the  firmness  to 
say,  "  I  will  go  to  no  ball  unless  my  mother  is  present  at  it;" 
but  this  she  does  not  do,  and  the  mother  of  course  is  wound- 
ed, and  thinks  her  child  really  does  not  care  for  her — which 
I  fear  is  true.     And  when  this  unfortunate  Princess  sees  her- 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  133 

self  forsaken  by  every  natural  tie,  and  by  every  person  of 
distinction  once  professing  friendship,  it  is  hardly  to  be  won- 
dered that  she  should  become  desperate  :  if  she  does  not,  she 
will  stand  recorded  in  history  as  the  wisest  and  best  of  her 
sex  and  regal  station.  But  a  return  is  naturally  made  to  self, 
and  I  feel  myself,  as  her  friend,    very  awkwardly  situated. 

To-day,  for  instance,  there  was  that  foolish  Lady  P ■,  and 

her  silly  protege — both  very  unfit  company  for  the  Princess. 

Dr.  B is  clever  and  agreeable  ;  still  there  ought  to  be 

another  set  of  persons  to  form  her  Royal  Highness's  coterie. 
It  is  impossible  not  to  regret  that  she  should  thus  lose  herself, 
and  forfeit  the  vantage-ground  she  had  so  recently  obtained. 
Yet  for  me  to  appear*downcast,  would  only  draw  on  explana- 
tions which  I  am  desirous  of  avoiding.     Mr. came  by 

appointment.  He  was  pleased  at  being  presented  to  her 
Royal  Highness  any  how.  If  everybody  was  behind  the 
scenes,  they  would  not  think  so  much  of  the  show — but  this 
applies  to  all  courts  indiscriminately. 

It  was  one  o'clock  in  the  morning  before  I  was  dismissed. 
— 0  ye  gods  and  green  geese  !  I  wish  I  was  one  upon  a 
goose  green,  instead  of  a  court  ! 

Wednesday,  May  12th. — Her  Royal  Highness  graciously 
gave  me- a  picture  of  herself  (as  she  calls  it !) — which  might, 
just  as  well  be  the  picture  of  the  Grand  Turk,  and  which  I 
verily  believe  was  done  for  her  dead  sister-in-law,  the  late 
Duchess  of  Brunswick — not  for  herself.  Nevertheless,  by 
a  little  royal  hocus  pocus,  it  is  now  transmuted  into  her  own 
portrait ! — and  I  received  it  as  though  I  believed  it — so  much 
for  being  a  courtier ! 

Friday,  14th. — Yesterday  came  Sir  J.  Owen,  with  the 
Pembrokeshire  address.  He  is  a  well-looking  young  man. 
The  Princess  went  through  the  ceremony  with  great  dignity, 
and  did  the  whole  thing  very  well.  Why  does  she  not  always 
so  ?  I  was  present  at  a  visit  her  Royal  Highness  paid  the 
Duchess  of  Leinster,  when  she  took  a  china  cup  to  her  which 
her  Royal  Highness  said  had  belonged  to  her  mother,  who 
was  a  friend  of  hers.  What  a  magnificent  old  lady  !  There 
is  something  in  great  age,  when  accompanied  by  sweetness 
and  dignity,  that  has  a  peculiar  charm  for  me.  I  feel  inclined 
to  honour  such  persons,  if  only  for  having  outlived  and  out- 
braved the  storms  of  life  which  they  must  have  passed  through. 

Vol.  I.  12 


134  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

"  So  some  lone  tower,  with  many  a  hue  inlaid, 

Which  Time  (the  cunning  artist)  doth  enchase, 
Lifts  its  grey  head  above  the  forest's  shade, 
And  seems  from  age  and  time  to  steal  new  grace." 

Now  poured  in  the  addresses  from  the  whole  of  England. 
The  Princess  ought  to  have  felt  the  double  responsibility 
which  such  testimonies  to  her  honour  imposed  upon  her. 

On  Saturday,  the  15th,  came  the  Sheffield  address.  That 
night  I  dined  at  Blackheath,  and  sat  up  till  two  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  The  Princess  read  some  of  Mirabeau's  letters  of 
the  private  history  of  the  Court  of  Berlin ;  but  every  now 
and  then  laid  down  the  book  to  talk  of  the  personages  men- 
tioned therein,  according  to  her  own  version  of  the  story. 
This  she  did  very  well,  and  was  extremely  entertaining. 
Mirabeau  mentions  a  long  discourse  he  had  with  the  Duke 
of  Brunswick,  about  the  state  of  Europe  in  that  time,  and 
adds,  that  it  was  'diamond  cut  diamond'  between  them.  The 
Duke  wanted  to  find  out  whether  Monsieur  de  Bieteuil  was 
likely  to  succeed  Monsieur  de  Vergennes  as  minister  at  Ber- 
lin.— "  Ah,"  said  the  Princess,  closing  the  book,  "  nobody 
could  love  a  fader  better  nor  I  loved  mine  ;  but  he  was  a  man 
of  inordinate  ambition,  and  was  not  at  all  pleased  with  only 
reigning  over  so  small  a  principality  as  Brunswick.  Frederick 
Guillaume  was  a  very  weak  prince,  and  my  fader  always  de- 
termined to  have  the  whole  management  of  Prussia.  The 
better  to  bring  this  about,  he  earnestly  desired  my  marriage 
with  the  Prince  Royal,  but  I  never  could  consent. — Ah,  I 
was  so  happy  in  those  times  !"  I  asked  if  he  was  not  a  very 
handsome  man.  "  Very  like  the  bust  I  have  of  him,"  was 
her  reply — and  that  bust  is,  I  think,  handsome,  but  she  does 
not.  She  then  added, — "  Things  all  change  since  that  time, 
— and  here  I  am." — And  she  burst  out  crying. 

Sunday,  16th. — Met  her  Royal  Highness  in  town  to  see 
Harcourt  House,  the  abode  which  was  now  pointed  out  to  her 
as  eligible.  She  was  disappointed  in  its  dimensions  and  ap- 
pearance ; — so  was  I.  How  few  persons  have  any  idea  of 
real  magnificence  !  However,  it  is  a  proper  sort  of  house 
for  the  Princess  to  inhabit ;  and  I  wish  upon  all  accounts 
that  she  may  take  it. 

Mr.  Brougham  came  to  her  at  last.  His  manner  does  not 
please  her :  they  look  at  each  other  in  a  way  that  is  very 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  135 

amusing  to  a  bystander.  The  one  thinks,  "  She  may  be 
useful  to  me;"  and  the  other,  "He  is  useful  to  me  at  pre- 
sent." It  does  not  require  to  be  a  conjurer  to  read  their 
thoughts — but  they  are  both  too  cunning  for  each  other.  Mr. 
Brougham,  however,  gave  her  good  advice,  which  was,  to 
wait  a  few  days,  in  which  time  he  thought  Whitbread  would 
sound  the  waters,  and  take  the  bearings  of  all  circumstances, 
so  as  to  let  her  know  whether  or  not  she  might  venture  to  live 
in  town  without  incurring  the  risk  of  losing  Kensington. 
She  wishes,  and  is  advised,  to  let  this  place,  and  keep  Ken- 
sington as  her  villa.  That  would  be  a  very  wise  plan,  and  I 
hope  for  her  sake  she  may  do  so. 

The  addresses  are  aH  going  on  notably :  they  come  from 
every  part  of  the  country.  I  do  hope  the  people  may  force 
the  nobles  into  a  more  just  conduct  towards  her  ;  but  I  look 
with  very  despairing  eyes  upon  the  state  of  the  constitution 
of  this  country — that  is  to  say,  with  regard  to  the  continuance 
of  its  regal  power, — were  it  not  that  God,  who  sees  into  the 
hearts,  and  tries  the  reins  of  men,  knows  of  virtues  that  are 
not  seen,  but  which  to  his  all-seeing  eye  redeem  the  vices 
that  are  alone  apparent  to  man. 

The  history  of  all  courts,  and  all  princes,  from  the  time  of 
Jehu  unto  the  present  day,  shows  them  full  of  corruptions 
and  vices  :  their  very  stations  lead  them  into  sin.  Yet,  when 
lately  France  tried  to  exist  under  an  ideal  form  of  government, 
greater  misery  ensued,  and  the  convulsion  only  subsided  when 
a  more  despotic  power  than  any  king's  gradually  subdued  the 
tumult,  and  restored  order  by  enforcing  obedience.  Why  then 
should  we  seek  for  imaginary  perfectibility  in  the  laws  of 
man?  it  suits  not  with  his  imperfect  essence.  God  sees  the 
hearts  of  princes,  and  will  perhaps  maintain  them  in  their 
place  in  spite  of  all  their  seeming  unworthiness  to  us.  Yet, 
sometimes,  I  again  think  no,  especially  at  this  time  in 
England. — "  A  house  divided  against  itself  cannot  stand." 
The  old  King  had  many  faults — I  say  had,  for  in  fact  he  is 
dead,  to  this  world, — but  then  he  was  a  good  and  a  pious 
man  ;  and  the  example  of  such  has  always  been  of  powerful 
influence.  When  he  dies,  I  fear  much  harm  will  ensue,  for 
there  is  a  fermentation  in  men's  minds,  and  a  general  system 
of  deceit  prevails,  which  in  regard  to  things  temporal  and 
spiritual  the  coming  power  is  not  likely  to  dissipate.  May 
God  avert  the  evil !     It  will  be  laid  to  the  charge  of  one, 


136  MEMOIRS    Of    THE 

when  it  does  come,  but  it  is  the  consequence  of  the  hollow- 
ness  and  immorality  of  all. 

Thursday,  May  19th.  —  Monday  was  the  Princess  of 
Wales's  birthday.  I  went  to  pay  my  respects.  Her  Royal 
Highness  told  me  she  had  received  a  letter  at  half-past  one 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  from  Princess  Charlotte,  to  give  no- 
tice that  she  was  to  arrive  at  Blaekheath  at  two  to-day,  to 
remain  for  one  hour  only.  This  did  not  please  ;  and  she  was 
pleased  to  aggravate  the  sense  of  her  displeasure,  because  we 
naturally  like  to  make  bad  worse,  when  we  are  ill  treated. 
Haidly  had  she  time  to  receive  the  Berwick  address,  which 
was  delivered  by  a  remarkably  gentlemanly  man,  Colonel 
Allen,  (who  made  her  a  very  pretty  speech  from  himself 
afterwards,)  when  there  arrived  a  servant  from  Princess  Char- 
lotte to  say  she  was  ordered  to  be  at  Blaekheath  at  half-past 
one,  and  back  at  Warwick  House  by  half-past  two.  This 
was  a  fresh  cause  of  complaint.  Royalties  do  not  understand 
having  hours  changed  by  others,  though  they  change  them 
when  it  suits  their  own  convenience.  In  general,  however, 
they  are  punctual. 

The  Duke  of  Kent  came,  and  a  quarter  of  an  hour  after, 
Princess  Charlotte;  the  Duchess  of  Leeds  and  Miss  Knight 
attending  her.  The  meeting  was  as  dry  and  as  formal  as 
possible.  Princess  Charlotte  was  rather  gracious  to  me. 
Her  legs  and  feet  are  very  pretty:  her  Royal  Highness 
knows  that  they  are  so,  and  wears  extremely  short  petticoats. 
Her  face  would  be  pretty  too,  if  the  outline  of  her  cheeks 
was  not  so  full..  She  went  away  soon  after  two;  and  I  left 
the  Duke  of  Kent  and  the  Princess  tete-a-tete. 

In  the  evening,  singing  and  playing. — "Vivent  les  beaux 
arts .'" 

I  do  not,  whatever  others  may  say,  believe  that  the  Prince 
Regent  considers  the  addresses  to  the  Princess  in  the  serious 
light  they  deserve  to  be  considered ;  because  he  is  under  the 
influence  of  bad  and  weak  advisers.  Nor  do  I  think  that,  in 
the  present  state  of  men's  minds,  any  immediate  advantage 
will  be  gained  by  them  to  her  Royal  Highness;  but  if  she 
has  the  resolution  to  act  with  a  patience  scarcely  to  be  ex- 
pected, I  have  not  the  smallest  doubt  but  that  she  will  stand, 
in  point  of  popularity,  so  high  in  this  country,  that  justice 
will  and  must  be  done  to  her. 

The  Princess  has   taken  a  dislike  to   Sir  C.  and  Lady 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  137 

Hamilton,  and  was  angry  at  their  calling  on  her.     Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Lock  are  still  in  favour,  and  dined  here. 

Friday,  21st. — The  Princess  went  to  town,  after  receiving 
an  address  from  Middlesex, — a  very  strong  one.  The  Sheriff 
and  Mr.  G.  Byng,  and  some  more  people,  all  warm  in  her 
cause.  They  ate  luncheon,  and  asked  a  great  many  ques- 
tions, and  seemed  very  much  interested  in  all  that  concerned 
her.  The  Sheriff  said,  her  Royal  Highness  had  at  least  one 
consolation,  namely,  that  the  voice  of  the  people  was  for  her. 
God  grant  this  may  be  true — and  continue  !  1  think,  if  she  ia 
but  tolerably  prudent,  she  will  get  the  better  of  her  enemies. 

Saturday,  May  22d,  1813. — The  Princess  went  to  town 
to  see  her  nephew  at  the  Duke  of  Brunswick's,  Chelsea.  I 
was  glad  to  hear  it,  for  the  sake  of  appearances,  though  I, 
alas !  know  'tis  only  appearance. 

May  31st. — I  have  not  been  able  for  the  last  nine  days  to 
write  this  memorandum;  perpetual  late  hours  fatigue  me  so 
much,  and  render  me  incapable  of  the  smallest  exertion. 

There  has  been  less  music,  lately,  and  the  musicantes  have 
been  less  with  her.  I  am  afraid,  or  rather  I  ought  to  rejoice, 
that,  she  has  not  found  that  society  quite  congenial.  The  ad- 
dresses have  continued — Westminster  is  the  strongest ;  Berk- 
shire, &c,  &c,  have  followed.  The  people  certainly  espouse 
her  cause:  the  nobles,  more  immediately  influenced  by  pen- 
sions and  places,  and  stars  and  garters,  show  their  native 
meanness  of  soul.  If  it  were  really  virtue,  or  extreme  deli- 
cacy, that  made  some  people  step  aside  and  decline  her  so- 
ciety, one  should  only  grieve,  and  could  not  blame  ;  but  as  it 
is,  self-interest  alone  directs  their  conduct,  and  one  must 
despise  those  who  bend  the  knee  to  those  only  who  have  the 
power  of  benefiting  them.  At  the  Opera  the  other  night, 
every  person  stood  up  when  her  Royal  Highness  entered  the 
house,  and  there  was  a  burst  of  applause  :  it  was  not  so  long, 
or  so  rapturous,  as  I  had  before  witnessed — (or  instance,  in 
Kensington  Gardens;  but  it  was  very  decidedly  general  and 
determined.  There  were  two  or  three  hisses  :  I  could  not 
distinguish  where  they  came  from, — some  Carlton  House 
emissaries,  of  course.*     I  saw   nobody  and   nothing,  being 

*  It  is  said  a  very  great  lady,  now  far  advanced  in  years,  the  mother 
of  a  particularly  pious  nobleman,  was  the  leader  of  this  disapprobation. 

12* 


138  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

very  much  moved  and  interested  in  her  reception.     I  heard 

afterwards  that  the  Dowager  Lady  C y  was  one  of  those 

who  hissed — more  shame  to  her.*  The  Princess  entered  the 
house  at  eleven,  and  left  it  at  twelve,  so  that  there  was  not 
much  time  for  the  people  to  weary  of  her ;  and  when  she  got 
up  to  go  away  there  was  another  applause,  but  she  did  not 
receive  the  applause  as  if  she  was  pleased  by  it, — perhaps  it 
did  not  content  her;  or  rather,  I  think,  the  true  cause  which 
prevented  her  from  being  pleased  at  any  circumstance  that 
evening  was,  that  Mr.  Whitbread  had  written  her  a  letter, 
begging  that  she  would  be  very  careful  about  her  dress, — in 
short,  explaining  that  she  ought  to  cover  her  neck.  This  I 
knew  by  a  roundabout  way.  It  was  a  bold  act  of  friendship 
to  tell  her  this :  she  will  never  forget  it,  nor  ever  like  the 
person  who  had  the  courage  to  give  her  the  advice.  She  has 
many  good  qualities,  but  that  Christian  virtue,  humility,  en- 
ters not  within  the  porch  of  her  thoughts  or  feelings:  indeed, 
to  speak  candidly,  it  is  the  most  difficult  one  to  attain ;  and 
many  who  think  they  possess  it,  are  as  far  from  it  as  the 
poor  Princess,  who  openly  contemns  it.  She  absolutely 
wept  some  tears  of  mortification  and  anger,  when  she  re- 
ceived this  letter  from  Mr.  Whitbread.  She  did  not  know 
that  I  knew  the  contents,  which  I  rejoiced  at,  because  it 
spared  her  another  act  of  humiliation  before  me.  In  regard 
to  myself,  I  have  laid  down  a  rule  of  conduct  towards  her 
Royal  Highness,  from  which  I  am  determined  not  to  depart. 
This  determination  is,  never  to  give  advice;  because  I  am 
quite  aware  that  it  might  do  me  much  harm,  and  would  do 
her  no  good.  From  a  legal  adviser  alone  she  can  endure  a 
plain  unpleasant  truth,  and  she  has  greatness  of  mind  enough 
to  esteem  and  value  the  attachment  of  such  a  man  to  her  cause, 
after  the  first  sting  of  rebuke  is  passed  away,  though  such  a 
man,  she  never  will  suffer  to  be  immediately  in  attendance 
upon  her  person. 

On  Thursday  last,  little  Matt.  Lewis  came  to  pay  me  a 
visit.  He  is  such  a  steady  friend,  and  so  amusing,  that  in 
spite  of  all  his  ridicules  I  like  him  exceedingly. 

Friday  I  again  dined  at  Kensington  :   my  cousin dined 

there  also.  I  am  always  distressed  when  I  meet  him  at  the 
Princess's,  for  I  know  he  is  trying  to  find  fault  all  the  time. 
I  think,  however,  for  once  he  did  not  succeed,  and  he  made 
himself  (as  he  ought)  agreeable  to  his  Royal  hostess. 

*   What  an  unladylike,  and  unchristian  demonstration  of  feeling! 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  139 

Monday,  June  2d. — I  met  the  Princess  at  supper,  at  Lord 
Glenbervie's  :  it  was  a  dull  affair,  and  the  more  so,  from  the 
Princess  appearing  to  be  very  low  and  cross.  The  party  did 
not  last  long;  that  was  one  comfort.  I  had  received  such  a 
shock  from  the  accounts  of  the  horrid  murder  of  the  poor  old 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thompson  Bonnar,  that  I  was  quite  unfit  for 
society  ;  but  her  Royal  Highness  had  commanded  me  to  meet 
her  at  Lord  Glenbervie's,  so  I  was  obliged  to  obey.  Having 
seen  the  murdered  persons  frequently;  having  been  in  their 
house,  and  in  their  very  room,  I  had  the  whole  horrid  scene 
before  me  most  vividly.  It  is  strange  to  remark  how  the 
most  tragic  events  pass  under  the  observation  of  people  who 
live  in  the  busy  world,  without  creating  one  serious  thought. 
They  say,  "  shockipg,"  "  horrid,"  and  as  soon  as  their  curi- 
osity is  amused  and  gratified  by  the  details  of  the  story,  turn 
from  the  tale  with  an  air  of  levity,  and  soon  contrive  to  lose 
all  recollection  of  so  unpleasant  a  subject:  the  wholesome 
moral  to  be  deduced  from  serious  reflection  is  wholly  set 
aside. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thompson  Bonnar  were  good  people:  they 
had  closed  their  evening  in  acts  of  family  devotion  ;  and  yet 
the  Almighty  permitted,  for  some  wise  purpose  doubtless, 
but  one  unknown  to  man,  that  these  innocent  beings  should 
suffer  a  dreadful  death.  What  an  exercise  for  faith  and 
resignation  !  How  can  any  thing  else  reconcile  such  awful 
dispensations  with  the  tender  mercies  of  God  ?  There  were 
few  whom  I  heard  express  any  serious  thoughts  about  this 
tragic  story  ; — and  some  contrived,  even  upon  such  an  event, 
to  cut  their  idle  jokes.* 

Tuesday,   June   3d. — I   went   to   see   Mrs.   R n :  her 

daughter  is  a  beautiful  girl,  and  very  agreeable.    The  Princess 
Charlotte  has  taken  a  great  fancy  for  her,  at  which  I  am  not 

surprised.     She  told  me  Miss  E n  is  not  friendly  to  the 

Princess  of  Wales,  and  I  fear  it  is  so  ;  for  since  her  return  to 
the  Princess  Charlotte,  the  latter  is  not  half  so  kind  to  her 

*  It  so  happened,  that  at  the  distance  of  twenty-seven  years,  the  editor 
of  this  journal  heard  of  a  similar  event,  which  excited  similar  unfeeling 
remarks,  when  looking  over  these  papers.  The  coincidence  was  striking; 
and  the  editor  experienced  the  same  revulsion  of  feeling  on  hearing  Mr. 

G e  speak  with  heartlessness  on  a  subject  of  equal  horror.     Perhaps 

Mr.  G e  mistakes  this  ill-judged  levity  for  wit.     "  Dans  ce  monde, 

tout  se  retrouve  hors  Ie  bonheur." 


140  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

mother.  Whoever  busy  themselves  by  depreciating  a  parent 
in  a  child's  estimation  are  much  to  blame  ;  for  even  where 
the  parent  is  in  fault,  the  child  should  never  know  it.  It  is 
a  dangerous  experiment  to  bid  the  offspring  discriminate 
where  its  parent  is  in  the  right  and  where  in  the  wrong. 

Very  likely  Miss  E did  not  advise  Princess  Charlotte 

not  to  love  her  mother,  but  she  probably  told  her,  "  She  is 
imprudent,  foolish ;  do  not  be  guided  by  her ;"  and  so  les- 
sened her  respect  for  her  mother.     Miss  E ,  however, 

was  on  one  occasion  a  useful  friend  to  the  Princess  Char- 
lotte, insomuch  that  it  was  through  her  means  that  a  silly 
correspondence  into  which  the  Princess  Charlotte  had  enter- 
ed with  C H was  delivered  up  and  destroyed.    The 

Princess  of  Wales,  on  the  contrary,  behaved  very  foolishly 
in  this  business  ;  and  it  gave  a  handle  to  her  enemies  to  re- 
present to  the  Regent  that  she  ought  not  to  be  allowed  indis- 
criminate intercourse  with  her  daughter.  They  took  a  fiend- 
ish pleasure  in  laying  hold  of  this  or  any  other  plausible 
pretext  to  separate  the  Princess  from  her  child. 

Tuesday,  10th  of  August,  1813. — I  passed  nearly  an  hour 
with  Madame  de  Stael.  That  woman  captivates  me.  There 
is  a  charm,  a  sincerity,  a  force  in  all  she  says  and  looks.  / 
am  not  disappointed  in  her.  The  anger  I  felt  at  her  for 
not  taking  up  the  Princess's  cause  more  warmly  is,  I  feel, 
fast  vanishing  away.  The  reason  of  this  lies  in  my  unhappy 
knowledge  of  the  dessous  des  cartes,  a  knowledge  more  like- 
ly to  increase  than  to  diminish,  for  the  poor  Princess  is  going 
on  headlong  to  her  ruin.  Every  day  she  becomes  more  im- 
prudent in  her  conduct,  more  heedless  of  propriety  and  the 
respect  she  owes  to  herself.  The  society  she  is  now  sur- 
rounded by,  is  disgraceful. 

Yesterday,  when  I  dined  with  her  Royal  Highness,  the  old 
our  an  outang  was  there,  and  they  sang  together  for  some  time, 

and  after  that  the  Princess   set  off  with  Lady to  go  to 

the  vile  Maison  de  Plaisance,  or  rather  de  Nuisance.  It 
consists  of  two  damp  holes,  that  have  no  other  merit  than 
being  next  to  the  S.  Kennel.     I  was  shown  all  over,  or  half 

over,  this  abominable  place,  and  then  dismissed.     Lady 

told  me  to-day  that  she  was  left  to  chew  the  cud  of  her  reflec- 
tion for  several  hours.  She  said,  that  she  tried  "  to  spit  them 
out,  for  that  truly  they  were  neither  nutritive  nor  sweet." 
She  lead  one  of  Madame  de  Stael's  Peiits  Romans,  which  I 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  141 

had  lent  her,  and  which  she  told  me  had  given  her  great 
pleasure.  Madame  de  Stael's  Essai  surles  Fictions  delights 
me  particularly  ;  for  every  word  in  it  is  a  beautiful  echo  of  my 

own  feelings.    Lady told  me  the  Princess  was  not  content 

with  being  next  door  to  the  Kennel,  but  she  would  go  into 
it ;  and  there  she  was  introduced  to  a  new  brother  and  sister- 
in-law  of  the  L s.  Alas  !  what  company  for  her  to  asso- 
ciate with  !     Lady said  she  felt  very  distressed  at  seeing 

her  royal  mistress  there;  and  thought  the  mother  of  the  Prin- 
cess felt  so  too,  for  that  the  latter  neither  wants  feeling  nor 
sense.  After  two  hours  of  music,  i.  e.  charivari,  the  Princess 
returned  back  again  to  the  other  hole,  and  supped  tete-a-tete 

with  Lady ;  this,  at  least,  was  an  appearance  kept  up  ; 

but  Lady is  terrified,  for  the  Princess  talked  of  sleeping 

at  the  "'cottage."  Her  Royal  Highness's  servants  are  infu- 
riated, and  there  is  no  saying  how  long  their  fidelity  may 
hold  out. 

Wednesday,  11th  of  August. — Again  I  dined  at  Kensing- 
ton, and   after  dinner   the  Princess  went  with  Lady to 

Mr.  Angerstein's,  and  desired  me  to  follow  her  thither. 
There  was  an  awkward  scene  took  place ;  for  Lady  Bucking- 
hamshire, like  a  true  vulgar,  ran  q^'the  moment  she  saw  the 
Princess  enter  the  room,  and  nothing  could  persuade  her  to 
come  back,  instead  of  standing  still  and  making  a  curtsy  and 
taking  her  departure  quietly.  The  gentlemen  were  still  at 
table.  Mr.  Boucheret  was  the  first  who  came  out.  The 
Princess   did   not   speak  to  the  Dean  of  Windsor,  who  was 

there  ;   which  I  regretted  for  her  sake.     Lady told  me 

that  she  had  implored  Lady  C.  L.  to  write  to  Mr.  Whitbread, 
to  say  it  is  of  vital  consequence  he  should  state  to  her  Royal 
Highness,  that  the  "  cottages"  are  already  a  cause  of  scandal; 
and,  well  knowing  her  innocent  recreations,  he  advised  that 
they  should  take  place  elsewhere.     Perhaps  he  will  not  dare 

to  give  her  this  advice.     From  Mr.  A the  Princess  went 

to  sup  at  Lady  Perceval's.  I  am  sorry  for  her  Royal  High- 
ness ;  I  think  she  has  sacrificed  herself,  and  that  she  is  really 
attached  to  a  weak  intri<ruing  woman.  I  heard  a  curious 
story  ahout  the  Duke  of  Brunswick.  It  is  said  that  he  has 
an  intrigue  with  a  married  woman  at  Shrewsbury;  and  hear- 
ing  that  her  husband  was  absent,  the  Duke  set  off  to  a  ren- 
dezvous. When  he  arrived  at  an  inn  there,  he  ordered  a 
dinner  the  next  day  for  himself  and  his  innamorata  ;  but  his 


142  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

broken  English,  and  a  peculiar  air  belonging  to  him,  attracted 
observation;  and  Mr.  Forrester,  son-in;law  to  the  Duchess  of 
Rutland,  happening  to  be  there,  said  to  the  landlord,  "  I  am 
sure  that  is  a  French  prisoner  trying  to  escape  ;  accordingly, 
a  hue  and  cry  was  made  after  him,  and  lie  was  arrested. 
His  continued  had  English  confirmed  them  in  their  opinion, 
but  he  said  he  was  an  officer  in  the  Duke  of  Brunswick's 
German  legion.  This  was  not  believed  ;  and  he,  infuriated 
at  their  doubts,  declared  himself  to  be  the  Duke  of  Bruns- 
wick. "No,"  said  Mr.  Forrester,  "I  am  certain  the  Duke 
of  Brunswick  is  not  such  a  frippery  fellow  as  you  are."  In 
short  he  was  treated  with  all  sorts  of  indignity  ;  but  at  length 
some  one  knew  him,  and  he  was  set  at  liberty,  and  excuses 
out  of  number  were  made  to  him  when  it  was  too  late.  What 
the  Duke  principally  dreaded  was  an  action  for  crim.  con., 
and  being  obliged  to  pay  ten  thousand  pounds. 

I  have  long  had  a  foresight  for  some  great  interior  revolu- 
tion in  these  kingdoms.  All  I  see  and  know,  and  do  not  see 
but  lliink,  confirms  me  in  this  opinion.  Speaking  morally, 
it  is  perhaps  better  that  a  man  should  have  a  compensation  in 
money  for  his  wife's  guilt,  than  in  the  blood  of  the  offender  : 
but,  speaking  according  to  my  own  feelings,  I  think  that 
were  I  in  such  a  miserable  position,  nothing  but  fighting  to 
the  death  would  satisfy  me  ;  for  how  can  gold  be  a  compen- 
sation for  wounded  honour?  It  is,  according  to  my  way  of 
thinking,  only  an  additional  affront.  If  a  man,  from  the  high- 
est of  all  motives,  Christian  humility  and  forbearance,  par- 
dons a  faithless  wife,  and  the  object  of  her  guilty  passion, 
then  indeed  he  is  truly  great,  and  by  his  greatness  alone  over- 
comes his  injuries,  and  washes  away  all  stain  from  his  cha- 
racter.— but  to  take  a.  price  for  an  injury  is  a  cowering  mean 
idea,  that  could  only  obtain  currency  from  its  being  part  of 
that  system  of  trade  upon  which  hang  our  law  and  our  pro- 
phets. 

Sunday. — Last  night  the  Princess  again  went  to  sup  at  Mr. 
Angerstein's,  and  unfortunately  Lord  and  Lady  Buckingham- 
shire were  there.  The  latter  behaved  very  rudely,  and  went 
away  immediately  after  the  Princess  arrived.  Whatever  her 
opinions,  political  or  moral,  may  be,  I  think  that  making  a 
curtsy  to  the  person  invested  with  the  rank  of  Princess  of 
Wales,  would  be  much  better  taste,  and  more  like  a  lady, 
than  turning  her  back  and  hurrying  out  of  the  room. 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  143 

I  wonder  why  the  Princess  treats  the  Dean  of  Windsor 
with  such  marked  dislike,  for  he  has  always  been  respectful 
and  attentive  to  her  and  her  mother,  the  Duchess  of  Bruns- 
wick : — it  is  vexatious  to  those  who  take  an  interest  in  her 
Royal  Highness's  welfare,  to  observe  how  she  slights  persons 
to  whom  it  is  of  consequence  for  her  to  show  civility;  and 
how  she  mistakes  in  the  choice  of  those  on  whom  she  lavishes 
her  favour.  The  Princess  is  always  seeking  amusement,  and 
unfortunately,  often  at  the  expense  of  prudence  and  pro- 
priety.— She  cannot  endure  a  dull  person  :  she  has  often  said 
to  me,  "  I  can  forgive  any  fault  but  that ;"  and  the  anathema 
she  frequently  pronounces  upon  such  persons  is, — "  Mine 
G — !  dat  is  de  dullest  person  G —  Almighty  ever  did  born  !" 

Monday,  22d  of   August. — I  went  and  saw  Lady 


she  told  me  a  piece  of  news,  which  it  gave  me  great  pleasure 
to  learn,  namely,  that  Frow  madame  exists  no  more,  and 
that  Chanticleer  has  been  fairly  driven  off  his  dunghill.    Lady 

does  not  know  how  this  has  been  effected ;  but  that  it 

has  is  certain,  thank  heaven  ! — Only,  I  fear,  that  if  Chanti- 
cleers wings  are  clipped,  they  will  grow  again;  and  if  his 
neck  is  twisted,  some  other  dunghill-bird  will  roost  on  the 
same  perch — and  it  is  not  only  disgraceful  that  the  Princess 
should  have  lived  in  intimacy  with  such  persons  as  the  S — s, 
but  they  have  extracted  so  much  money  from  her,  that,  had 
their  reign  continued  longer,  she  would  have  been  greatly 
embanassed.  All  Mr.  H has  said  to  me  on  this  melan- 
choly subject,  starts  up  and  stares  me  in  the  face  with  damning 
truth.  Even  were  the  excuse,  though  a  bad  one,  of  supposing 
her  heart  interested  in  any  one  person,  I  could  forgive — nay, 
feel  sympathy  with  her  Royal  Highness:  but  taking  pleasure 
merely  in  the  admiration  of  low  persons,  is  beneath  her  dig- 
nity as  a  woman,  not  to  mention  her  rank  and  station.  1  am 
sometimes  tempted  to  wish  Lord  H.  F — d  had  continued  to 
love  her,  for  I  am  sure,  poor  soul,  had  any  one  been  steadfast 
to  her,  she  would  have  been  so  to  them;  and  though,  as  a 
married  woman,  nothing  could  justify  her  in  being  attached 
to  any  man,  yet  it  is  a  hard  and  a  cruel  fate,  to  spend  the 
chief  part  of  one's  existence  unloving  and  unloved.  How 
few  can  endure  the  trial!  It  requires  strong  principle,  and  a 
higher  power  than  mortals  possess,  to  enable  them  to  bear 
such  a  one; — and  when  I  hear  women  sitting  in  judgment  on 
the  Princess,  (many  of  them  not  entitled  by  their  own  con- 


144  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

duct  as  wives  to  comment  on  the  behaviour  of  others,)  and 
declaiming  against  her  with  unchristian  severity, — some  from 
a  feeling  of  self-iighteousness,  others  from  political  or  party 
motives, — it  is  all  I  can  do  to  forbear  from  telling  them  how 
unamiable  I  think  such  observations.  Even  when  a  woman 
is  guilty,  I  cannot  bear  to  hear  another  of  her  own  sex  pro- 
claim her  fault  with  vehemence — I  always  think  it  proceeds 
from  private  malice,  or  a  wish  to  appear  better  than  others. 
If  ever  there  was  a  woman  to  whom,  in  this  respect,  mercy 
should  have  been  shown,  it  was  the  Princess  ;  and  those 
who  condemn  her  should  consider  the  trying,  nay,  almost 
unparalleled  situation  in  which  she  was  placed,  immediately 
after  coming  to  this  country. 

Who  and  what  was  the  woman  sent  to  escort  her  Royal 
Highness  to  England?  Was  there  any  attempt  made  on  the 
part  of  the  Prince  to  disguise  of  what  nature  his  connexion 

was  with  Lady  J y?  None. — He  took  every  opportunity 

of  wounding  the  Princess,  by  showing  her  that  Lady  J y 

was  her  rival. — The  ornaments  with  which  he  had  decked 
his  wife's  arms,  he  took  from  her  and  gave  to  his  mistress, 
who  wore  them  in  her  presence. — He  ridiculed  her  person, 
and  suffered  Lady  J y  to  do  so  in  the  most  open  and  of- 
fensive manner. — And  finally  he  wrote  to  her  Royal  Highness 
that  he  intended  never  to  consider  her  as  his  wife — not  even 
though  such  a  misfortune  should  befal  him  as  the  death  of  his 
only  child. 

When  the  " "  made  known  this  declaration, 

it  does  not  appear  that  he  assigned  any  cause  of  accusation 
against  his  wife. — He  was  the  first  to  blame ;  and  when  her 
subsequent  follies  (for  from  my  heart  I  believe  they  never  were 
more  than  follies)  gave  him  an  excuse  for  his  ill  treatment  of 
her,  it  should  be  remembered,  what  an  example  of  bare-faced 
vice  was  set  before  the  Princess  when  she  was  first  married 
to  the  Prince.  Unfortunutely  she  had  not  been  brought  up 
with  a  strict  sense  of  moral  rectitude,  or  religious  principle, 
in  her  childhood  neither  was  the  example  set  her  by  her  father, 
the  Duke  of  Brunswick,  likely  to  give  her  just  notions  of 
right  and  wrong.  She  loved  her  father,  and  therefore  excused 
his  errors.  From  her  earliest  years  she  had  been  taught  by 
the  example  of  others,  and  those  most  near  and  dear  to  her, 
to  consider  married  infidelity  as  a  very  venial  trespass ;  and 
when  she  came  to  England,  this  notion  was  confirmed  by 
those  whom  she  had  thought  most  to  have  honoured,  and 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  145 

been  guided  by  her  own  conduct.  It  may  be  said  that  the 
person  who  cannot  discern  between  vice  and  virtue,  and 
choose  for  herself  which  course  to  pursue,  is  always  to  blame. 
Granted  ; — but  surely,  for  a  woman  so  educated,  and  who 
had  such  examples  set  before  her,  there  ought  to  be  some 
indulgence  shown,  and  some  consideration  made,  for  frailties, 
which  in  one  shape  or  other,  are  common  to  humanity. 

While  opprobrium  was  heaped  on  the  Princess  of  Wales, 
and  the  smallest  offence  against  etiquette  or  propriety  which 

she  committed,  was  magnified  into  crime,  the  Prince  of  W 

ran  a  career  of  lawless  pleasure  unrebuked,  nay,  even  ap- 
plauded !  How  true  is  the  proverb — "  One  man  may  steal  a 
horse,  and  another  may  not  look  over  a  hedge."  I  am  not 
one  of  those  who  reason  falsely,  and  think  that  crime  in  the 
one  sex  alters  its  nature  and  becomes  virtue  in  the  other. 

Tuesday,  23d  August. — I  dined  at  Kensington.  The  man- 
ner in  which  Pylades  and  Orestes  are  treated,  amuses  and 
makes  me  melancholy  at  the  same  time ;  for  it  shows  how 
things  ivere,  and  how  they  are.  The  only  new  person  I 
have  seen  at  Kensington  for  a  length  of  time,  is  Madame 
ZublibrofT,  the  wife  of  a  General  Zublibroff :  she  is  a  daughter 
of  Mr.  Angerstein's,  and  a  very  pretty,  agreeable-looking 
person.  Her  husband  appears  clevei  and  sincere; — I  am 
sure,  by  the  conversation  I  heard  him  hold  with  the  Princess, 
he  is  a  good  man.  She  deceives  the  wife,  I  think,  com- 
pletely, but  I  doubt  it  is  not  so  with  the  husband  :  he  never- 
theless seems  friendly,  but  friendly  with  self-dignity.  He 
told  her  Royal  Highness  some  home  truths,  which  she  did 
not  at  all  relish  ;  but,  being  determined  to  like  him,  she  con- 
trived very  ingeniously  to  turn  the  subject  in  the  light  in 

which  she  chose  to  have  it  viewed,  leaving  General  Z 

precisely  at  the  point  whence  he  had  set  out.  Accustomed 
as  the  Princess  is,  in  common  with  all  royalties,  to  see  only 
through  the  medium  of  her  own  passions,  she  contrives 
generally  to  conceal  whatever  is  disagreeable  to  her,  and  to 
have  ears,  yet  hear  not.  So  far,  Bonaparte,  by  making  a 
new  race  of  kings,  may  perchance  alter  the  nature  of  royalty  ; 
but  I  believe  not,  for  the  evil  lies  in  the  station  more  than  in 
the  individual.  Yet  any  magistrate,  gifted  with  the  same 
superiorities  of  power  and  fortune,  would,  though  under  an- 
other title,  be  just  as  liable  to  the  same  prejudices  as  a  king 
or  an  emperor;  and  a  rose,  by  any  other  name,  would  smell 
as  sweet.     I  conceive,  however,  that  a  restless  and  active 

Vol.  I.  13 


14G  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

mind  may  dwell  on  this  subject  till  all  sorts  of  chimeras  enter 
the  brain. 

My  walk  lies  another  way. 

Wednesday. — The  Princess  drove  to  Lady  Perceval's,  and 
dined  there  yesterday.  Chanticleer  was  there.  It  was 
curious  to  see  how  she  thought  she  hid  mailers  from  Lady 

P .     The  latter  is  a  weak  intriguing  woman,  who  seems 

to  me  to  be  a  mere  convenience,  but  can  see  as  far  into  a 
millstone  as  another,  especially  such  a  broad  barefaced  one. 

Lady told  me,  that  in  going  out  of  Kensington  Palace 

gates,  by  driving  furiously,  one  of  the  leaders  fell,  and  the 

poor  little  postillion  was  thrown  off,  and  Lady feared, 

at  first,  seriously  hurt,  for  he  did  not  get  up  for  several 
minutes.  The  Princess  was  wholly  unmoved,  and  never 
even  asked  how  he  did.  Lady said  she  could  not  ex- 
press the  hatred  such  want  of  feeling  excited  in  her.  The 
Princess  ought  not  to  have  allowed  the  boy  to  ride  on,  but 
should  have  ordered  him  to  go  home  and  be  taken  care  of. 
Instead  of  this,  he  remounted,  and  twice  afterwards,  on  the 
road  to  Lady  P 's,  the  same  accident  very  nearly  hap- 
pened ;  for,  of  course,  the  poor  boy  was  trembling  and  unable 

to  guide  the  horses.     Lady told  me  she  was  made  quite 

sick  by  this  circumstance,  but  the  resentment  and  abhorrence 
she  felt  at  the  Princess's  total  want  of  humanity  on  this  occa- 
sion, made  her  recover  sooner  than  she  would  otherwise  have 
done,  for  indignation  took  place  of  any  other  feeling ;  and  no 
wonder.  I  could  not  understand  a  woman's  being  so  unfeel- 
ing. It  gave  me  also  a  feeling  of  dislike  towards  the  Prin- 
cess. 

To-day  I  went  to  Blackheath  by  command.  Her  Royal 
Highness  was  in  a  low,  gentle  humour.  I  walked  round  her 
melancholy  garden  with  her,  and  she  made  me  feel  quite  sorry 
for  her  when  she  cried,  and  said  it  was  all  her  own  creation 
— meaning  the  garden  and  shrubbery,  &c,  but  that  now  she 
must  leave  it  for  ever,  for  that  she  had  not  money  to  keep  a 
house  at  Blackheath  and  one  in  London  also  ;  and  that  the 
last  winter  she  had  passed  there  had  been  so  very  dreary,  she 
could  not  endure  the  thought  of  keeping  such  a  one  again.  I 
did  not  wonder  at  this.  All  the  time  I  staid  and  walked  with 
her  Royal  Highness,  she  cried,  and  spoke  with  a  desolation 
of  heart  that  really  made  me  sorry  for  her,  and  yet,  at  the 
end  of  our  conversation,  poor  soul,   she  smiled,  and  an  ex- 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  147 

pression  of  resignation,  even  of  content,  irradiated  her  coun- 
tenance as  she  said,  "  I  will  go  on  hoping  for  happier  days. 
Do  you  think  1  may?'''  she  asked  me  ;  and  I  replied,  with 
heartfelt  warmth,  "  I  trust  your  Royal  Highness  will  yet  see 
many  happy  days."  This  Princess  is  a  most  peculiar  per- 
son— she  alternately  makes  me  dislike  and  like  her,  her  con- 
duct and  sentiments  vary  so  in  quality  every  time  I  see  her. 
But  one  sentiment. does  and  will  ever  remain  fixed  in  my 
breast,  and  that  is  pity  for  her  manifold  wrongs. 

I  saw  Madame  de  H e ;  I  think  she  is  a  good  and  an 

upright  woman.  Heavens  !  what  an  opinion  she  has  of  the 
Princess.  She  told  me  she  dreamt  the  other  night,  that  her 
Royal   Highness's  .carriage  was  fired  at,  going  down  a  lane, 

and  that  she  was  shot  in  the  back.      Madame  de  H and 

I  agreed  on  the  impropriety  of  her  Royal  Highness  exposing 
her  person  as  she  does,  without  attendants,  in  lanes  and  by- 
ways near  Kensington  and  at  Blackheath. 

Thursday . — Lady was  sent  to  the  cottage  to  fetch 

away  books,  &c,  which  had  been  left  there.  She  heard  that 
Chanticleer  was  ill — amiable  distress,  interesting  denoue- 
ment!    I  dined  at  Kensington.     There  was  no  one  besides 

the  Princess,  except  Lady ;  we  dined  off  mutton  and 

onions,  and  I  thought  Lady would  have  degobbiled  with 

the  coarseness  of  the  food,  and  the  horror  of  seeing  the  Prin- 
cess eat  to  satiety  :  afterwards  her  Royal  Highness  walked 
about  Paddington  Fields,  making  Lady and  myself  fol- 
low. These  walks  are  very  injudiciously  chosen  as  to  time 
and  place,  though  perfectly  innocent,  and  taken  for  no  other 
purpose  than  for  the  pleasure  of  doing  an  extraordinary 
thing.  It  was  almost  dark  when  the  Princess  returned  home 
in  the  evening.  She  amused  us  very  much  by  telling  us  the 
history  of  her  sister,  Princess  Caroline.  I  asked  her  if  it  was 
true  that  the  Duke  of  Wirtemburgh  had  poisoned  Princess 
C.  She  said  she  did  not  believe  it,  and  had  even  reasons  for 
supposing  she  was  still  alive.  Princess  C.  married  at  13  or 
14  years  of  age,  and,  like  all  princesses  and  most  other  wo- 
men, she  did  so  in  order  to  have  an  establishment,  and  be  her 
own  mistress.  For  some  time  she  behaved  well,  though  her 
sister  said  her  husband  was  very  jealous  of  her  from  the  be- 
ginning, and  beat  her  cruelly.  At  length  they  went  to  Russia, 
and  there  she  became  enamoured  of  a  man  who  was  supposed 
to  have  been  the  Empress's  lover,  a  circumstance  which  ren- 


148  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

dered  the  offence  heinous,  even  though  he  was  a  cast  off 
lover.  But  it  seems  ladies  snarl  over  a  bone  they  have  picked, 
just  like  any  cross  dog.  The  Princess  Caroline  was  secretly 
delivered  of  a  child  in  process  of  time,  in  one  of  the  Em- 
press's chateaux.  Her  husband  not  having  lived  with  her  for 
a  year  or  two,  the  deed  was  known  not  to  be  his,  and  for 
once  the  right  father  was  actually  named.  As  soon  as  she 
recovered  from  this  little  accident,  the  Empress  informed  her 
it  was  no  longer  possible  for  her  to  allow  her  to  live  under  her 
roof,  but  that  she  might  go  to  the  Chateau  de  Revelt,  on  the 
Baltic — that  is  to  say,  she  must  go  :  whither  accordingly  she 
was  sent.  The  curious  part  of  this  story  is,  that  Miss  Saun- 
ders, the  Princess  of  Wales's  maid,  at  this  time  living  with 
her,  had  a  sister,  which  sister  lived  as  maid  to  Princess 
Caroline,  and  she,  after  a  time,  came  from  the  Chateau  de 
Revelt  back  to  Brunswick,  saying  her  mistress  was  in  per- 
fect health,  but  had  dismissed  her  from  her  service,  as  she  no 
longer  required  her  attendance.  She  gave  her  money  and 
jewels,  and  after  vain  entreaties  to  be  allowed  to  remain  with 
her  royal  mistress,  to  whom  she  was  much  attached,  Miss 
Saunders's  sister  left  the  Princess  Caroline. 

Not  long  after  this,  word  was  brought  to  the  Duke  of 
Brunswick  that  she  died  suddenly  of  some  putrid  disorder, 
which  made  it  necessary  to  bury  the  body  immediately, 
without  waiting  for  any  ceremonies  due  to  the  rank  of  the 
deceased.  All  further  inquiries  that  were  made  ended  in  this 
account,  and  no  light  was  thrown  upon  this  business.  Some 
years  subsequently  to  this,  a  travelling  Jew  arrived  at  Bruns- 
wick, who  swore  that  he  saw  the  Princess  Caroline  at  the 
Opera  at  Leghorn.  He  was  questioned,  and  declared  that  he 
could  not  be  mistaken  in  her.  I  own,  said  the  Princess  of 
Wales,  that  from  her  sending  away  the  person  who  was  so 
much  attached  to  her,  and  "  the  only  servant  she  had  whom 
she  loved  and  relied  on,  that  I  always  hope  she  contrived  to 
elope  with  her  lover,  and  may  still  be  alive."  This  story  is 
curious  if  it  be  true,  but  her  Royal  Highness  loves  to  tell 
romantic  histories,  so  that  one  cannot  believe  implicitly  what 
she  narrates. 

Saturday. — Again  I  dined  at  Kensington  ;   Mr.  and  Mrs. 

were  also  there.      I  was  glad  to  see  them  at  her  Royal 

Highness's  table  ;  for,  though  not  great  personages  in  point 
of  rank,  they  are  great  in  goodness,  and  respectability  and 
talent.     The  Princess  talked  during  the  whole  of  dinner  time 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  149 

about  her  wish  to  procure  four  or  live  thousand  pounds  by 
giving  up  the  lease  of  twenty-one  years  of  her  house  at  Black- 
heath,  to  whoever  would  advance  her  this  sum  of  money. 

Messrs. both  told  her  it  was  a  very  good  bargain  for 

any  body  to  enter  into,  but  very  disadvantageous  for  her. 
She  insisted  upon  it,  however,  and  said  "  she  would  get  it 

done,"  and  desired  Lady  to  write  the  next  day,  and 

tell  Mr.  H to  endeavour  to  procure  the  money  for  her 

on  these  terms.     After  dinner  the  Princess,  her  Lady , 

and  her  gentleman  accompanied  her  to  Vauxhall,  and  supped 
at  the  Duke  of  Brunswick's.  The  evening  was  pleasant  and 
amusing,  but  she  ivould  imagine  that  Mr.  Gell  was  in  love 

with    Lady  ,  a  very  funny  idea,  but   it   amrbyed    her. 

The  Duke  of  Brunswick  is  a  man  who  has  no  notion  of  per- 
sons of  different  sexes  associating  together,  merely  for  the 
sake  of  conversation  and  society.  The  only  subject  in 
which  he  shines  is  in  talking  of  wars  and  rumours  of  wars. 
He  told  me  that  the  reason  he  could  not  and  would  not  do 
any  thing  abroad  was,  because  the  Crown  Prince  insisted 
upon  every  person  being  under  him,  and  all  troops  serving 
in  the  same  cause  making  an  oath  to  follow  Mm  when  and 
wheresoever  he  should  appoint.  "  This,"  said  the  Duke, 
"  I  never  in  honour  could  do,  for  I  do  not,  in  the  first  place, 
feel  confidence  in  this  man;  and  in  the  second,  I  could  not 
be  subservient  to  him,  a  faiseur  crannes."  I  asked  him 
what  sort  of  looking  man  the  Crown  Prince  is.  "  Very  like 
what  his  former  profession  was,"  replied  the  Duke,  holding 
himself  erect,  and  gesticulating  very  much,  and  "  always  in 
tins  attitude,"  placing  himself  in  that  of  fencing,  with  both 
arms  extended. 

"  I  knew  Bernadotte,"  said  the  Duke,  "  before  he  was  in 
Bonaparte's  service,  and  when  he  was  only  a  maitre-d'arrnes. 
He  is  an  upstart,  and  though  he  personally  hates  Bonaparte, 
he  loves  the  French,  and  only  desires  to  place  himself  in  his 
stead  at  their  head.  He  would  be  just  as  great  a  tyrant, 
were  he  placed  in  the  same  position.  My  opinion  is,  he 
would  follow  in  Bonaparte's  footsteps,  and  I  do  not  think  the 
general  cause  will  be  advanced  by  him." 

The  Duke  showed  us  two  very  curious  illuminated  MSS. ; 
one  of  them  was  a  prayer-book,  or  rather  a  book  of  prayers, 
composed  and  .written  out  in  the  hand-writing  of  one  of  the 
Dukes  of  Brunswick.  There  were  one  hundred  beautiful 
pictures  in  it,  all  finished  like   the  finest   painted   miniatures 

13* 


150  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

and,  Mr.  Gell  said,  executed  by  some  great  master.  The 
binding  of  the  book  was  also  beautiful — of  fine  carved  silver 
work.  We  also  saw  a  vase  twenty  inches  high,  and  ten  in 
circumference,  made  of  a  single  sardonyx,  with  the  mysteries 
of  Ceres  exquisitely  carved  upon  it.  There  was  a  printed 
account  of  how  this  vase  came  into  the  possession  of  the 
family,  and  its  supposed  age,  which  the  author  placed  as  far 
back  as  having  been  in  the  temple  of  Solomon  ;  but  Mr.  Gell 
said,  "  that  is  nonsense,  and  I  hope  they  will  not  publish 
this  in  the  translation  intended  to  be  made  of  this  account, 
for  the  workmanship  of  this  unique  vase  is  evidently  Grecian, 
and  of  the  finest  times;  besides,  a  representation  of  the 
heathen  deities  would  not  have  been  allowed  to  exist  in 
Solomon's  Temple."  I  do  not  know  if  the  Duke  understood 
perfectly  all  that  Mr.  Gell  said,  for  his  Serene  Highness  is 
somewhat  bouche  upon  these  subjects.  We  were  shown  yet 
one  thing  more — the  Duke's  bed,  which  is  the  most  uncom- 
fortable place  of  rest  I  have  ever  seen.  It  is  made  of  iron  : 
there  are  no  curtains,  and  only  one  mattress,  and  a  sheet. 
He  piques  himself  on  having,  he  says,  "  sounder  and  sweeter 
sleep  on  that  bed,  than  many  who  lie  on  the  softest  down." 
There  is  a  frankness  and  an  enthusiasm  in  the  Duke  of 
Brunswick  which  makes  me  like  him  very  much,  notwith- 
standing his  ton  de  Garnison. 

Sunday. — The  Princess  went  to  Lady  Perceval's,  where 
Lady says  there  is  no  amusement;  it  must  be,  there- 
fore, that  this  intimacy  is  kept  up  for  past  reasons,  not  pre- 
sent pleasure — a  sad  consideration. 

Monday. — The  Duke  of  Brunswick  came  to  take  leave 
of  his  sister,  her  Royal  Highness.  I  was  present  at  their 
interview,  with  some  of  the  Princess's  ladies.  There  never 
was  a  man  so  altered  by  the  hope  of  glory  ;  his  stature 
seemed  to  dilate,  and  his  eyes  were  animated  with  a  fire  and 
an  expression  of  grandeur  and  delight  which  astonished  me. 
I  could  not  help  thinking  the  Princess  did  not  receive  him 
with  the  warmth  she  ought  to  have  done.  He  detailed  to 
her  the  whole  particulars  of  the  conversations   he   had   had 

with   the   Ministers,  the    1'rince   R 1,  &c,  he   mimicked 

them  all  admirably,  particularly  Lord  Castlereagh,  so  well 
as  to  make  us  all  laugh  ; — and  he  gave  the  substan'ce  of  what 
had  passed  between  himself  and  tho.sc  persons,  with  admira- 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  151 

ble  precision,  in  a  kind  of  question  and  answer  colloquy  that 
was  quite  dramatic. 

I  was  astonished,  for  I  never  saw  any  person  so  changed 
by  circumstance.  He  really  looked  a  hero.  The  Princess 
heard  all  that  he  said  in  a  kind  of  sullen  silence,  while  the 
tears  were  in  several  of  the  bystanders'  eyes.  'How  could 
this  be  so  ?  At  length,  when  the  Duke  of  Brunswick  said, 
"  The  ministers  refused  me  all  assistance ;  they  would  pro- 
mise me  neither  money  nor  arms.  But  I  care  not ;  I  will  go 
straight  to  Hamburgh  :  I  hear  there  are  some  brave  young 
men  there  who  await  my  coming ;  and  if  I  have  only  my 
orders  from  the  Prince  Regent  to  act,  I  will  go  without  either 
money  or  arms,  and  gain  both;" — "  perfectly  right,"  replied 
the  Princess,  with  some  enthusiasm  in  her  voice  and  manner. 
"  How  did  Bonaparte  conquer  the  greater  part  of  Europe," 
(the  Duke  continued,)  "  he  had  neither  money  nor  arms,  but 
he  took  them.  And  if  he  did  that,  why  should  not  I  who 
have  so  much  more  just  a  cause  to  defend  V  The  Duke 
then  proceeded  to  state  how  the  Ministers  and  the  Regent 
were  all  at  variance,  and  how  he  had  obtained  from  the  latter 
an  order  which  he  could  not  obtain  from  the  Ministers. 
After  some  further  conversation  he  took  leave  of  his  sister — 
she  did  not  embrace  him.  He  held  out  his  hand  to  me 
kindly,  and  named  me  familiarly.  I  felt  a  wish  to  express 
something  of  the  kindly  feeling  I  felt  towards  him,  but, 
I  know  not  why,  in  her  presence,  who  ought  to  have  felt  so 
much  more,  and  who  seemed  to  feel  so  little,  I  felt  chilled 
and  remained  silent.  I  have  often  thought  of  that  moment 
since  with  regret.  When  the  Duke  was  fairly  gone,  how- 
ever, she  shed  a  few  tears,  and  said  emphatically,  "  I  shall 
never  see  him  more." 

Mrs.  and  Miss  R n  and  Lord  H.  F.  dined  at  Kensing- 
ton. It  is  comical  to  see  how  the  Princess  behaves  to  him, 
trying  to  show  off,  and  yet  endeavouring  to  make  him  hate 
her.  His  behaviour  is  perfectly  kind,  respectful,  and  even, 
at  times,  there  is  a  sadness  in  his  manner,  which  makes  me 
think  he  regrets  the  change  in  her  sentiments  towards  him, 
and  I  am  certain  he  is  sorry  to  see  the  alteration  there  is  in 
the  society  which  frequents  her  Royal  Highness. 

I  was  for  several  days  much  alarmed  by  a  change  that  I  saw  in 
the  shape  of  the  Princess's  hgure,and  I  could  not  help  imparting 

the  terrible  fear  I  felt  to  Lady .     She  also  had  noticed 

it,  but  I  was  much  relieved  by  her  telling  me  she  knew  for 


152  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

certain  it  was  only  caused  by  the  Princess  having  left  off 
stays,  a  custom  which  she  is  very  fond  of;  and  she  ought  to 
be  warned  not  to  indulge  in  this  practice,  for  it  might  give 
rise  to  reports  exceedingly  injurious  to  her  character.     Lord 

H.   F.   asked  Lady  many   shrewd    questions    about 

young  Chanticleer?     He  smells  a  rat;  the  sweet  odour  must 

soon  spread  far  and  wide.      Mrs.  R talked  openly  to  me 

of  this  sad  and  disgraceful  story;  I  felt  very  awkward  and 
very  much  ashamed  for  my  poor  royal  mistress. 

Tuesday. — Again  I  dined  at  Kensington.     No  company 

except  the  Sapios.     Lady and  I  sat  apart  and  talked 

together  when  we  could  hear  one  another  speak,  but  the  hor- 
rible din  of  their  music  hardly  ever  stopped  the  whole  even- 
ing, except  when  it  was  interrupted  by  the  disgusting  nonsense 
of  praise  that  passed  between  the  parties.  Interest  and  cun- 
ning excuse  it  from  the  low  and  servile,  but  really,  to  hear 
her  let  herself  down  so  as  to  sing  pseans  to  the  Fiddler's  son, 
who  is  after  all  gone  away  from  her.     Upon  my  honour,  my 

honour  could  hardly  stand  it.      Lady and  I  both  agreed, 

it  is  more  than  human  patience  can  bear  to  witness  such  folly; 
the  perpetual  silly  nonsense  of  the  old  buffoon,  amounting 
often  to  imprudence,  crowns  the  whole. 

Thursday. — I    dined    at  Kensington.     Messrs.   Cell    and 

Craven  and  Sir  H.  Englefield  were  there,  besides  Lady . 

The  Princess  sat  at  table  till  we  went  to  sleep  or  near  it. 
Sir  H.  Englefield  did  quite;  not  that  these  men  dislike 
women's  society,  or  probably  wish  them  away  to  lose  all 
restraint  and  give  way  to  conversation  which  they  could  not 
hold  in  their  presence,  but  that  sitting  round  a  table  for  four 
hours  is  wearisome  to  the  body  as  well  as  mind.  Sir  H.  En- 
glefield went  away  immediately  after  the  Princess  rose :  the 
others  remained,  and  were  pleasant  and  amusing,  as  they 
always  are,  but  her  Royal  Highness  is  very  jealous  of  any 

attention  being  paid  to  Lady ,  and  if  she  listened  to  Mr. 

Craven  singing,  the  Princess  wanted  to  do  the  same;  or  if 
Lady talked  to  Mr.  Gell,  her  Royal  Highness  was  curi- 
ous, and  came  near   to  hear  what   they  were  saying;    and 

when  Mr.  Gell  attempted  to  teach  Lady to  play  on  the 

guitar,  that  annoyed  her  beyond  measure,  and  she  desired 
Mr.  Gell  to  "come  and  sit  beside  her  Royal  Highness."     I 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  153 

admire  and  am  astonished  beyond  measure  at  Lady 's 

good  humour  and  patience. 

In  the  course  of  the  evening  the  Princess  desired  Lady 

to  tell  her  her  fortune,  and  in  doing  so,  the  story  of  Tiberius 
and  the  conjurer  occurred  to  her, — and,  as  she  told  me  after- 
wards, she  could  not  resist  telling  it  to  her  Royal  Highness 
for  her  benefit.     It  was  a  comical  story  to  tell  a  Princess. 

I  do  not  think  she  was  pleased  with  Lady for  doing  so, 

though  she  pretended  to  laugh  and  be  much  amused. 

Friday. — It  is  said  Friday  is  an  unlucky  day,  and  I  am 
superstitious,  and  inclined  to  believe  in  these  traditions  ;  but 
I  never  can  again  in  this  one,  for  Friday  was  a  day  of  hap- 
piness to  me.     It  brought  me  an  unexpected  pleasure ;  I  saw 

and  she  was  kind.     This  meeting  has  given  me  fresh 

courage  to  bear  my  unhappy  existence. 

I  saw  Mr.  Ward,  he  was  in  a  gay,  good  humour.  How 
different  the  same  man  appears  at  different  times,  and  in  dif- 
ferent company ! 

Saturday,  4th  of  September. — I  called  on  Lady  W ; 

she  is  very  agreeable,  and,  I  think,  has  much  natural  clever- 
ness, but  it  is  all  wasted  in  eloquence  in  conversation.  She 
leads  a  strange  life  as  to  hours  and  customs,  which  I  do  not 
think  is  calculated  to  calm  her  mind  or  give  strength  to  her 
body.  She  is  always  in  a  bustle  about  nothing;  many  of 
her  ideas  are  exalted,  and  her  language  often  poetical,  but  it 
is  frittered  away  on  paltry  subjects,  and  there  is  a  spirit  of 
restlessness  in  her,  poor  soul,  which  renders  her  an  unhappy 
being.  Perhaps,  were  she  compelled  by  some  kind  but  reso- 
lute friend  to  lead  a  more  regular  and  wholesome  life,  she 
might  become  less  excited ;  but  alas  !  she  has  none  such,  and 
each  day  her  mind  is  getting  the  mastery  over  her  body,  to 
its  undoing. 

There  was  a  time  when  I  despised  all  notions  of  adhering 
to  any  regular  course  of  existence;  I  did  not  believe  that 
such  was  requisite,  or  contributed  as  much  as  it  does  to 
health  and  peace.  I  liked  sometimes  to  be  out  all  day  and 
return  at  night  to  my  meals;  sometimes  I  would  sit  up  late 
and  rise  early,  and  at  others  lie  in  bed  for  days.  I  did  not 
believe  that  such  irregularity  could  injure  my  health,  much 
loss  affect  my  mind  ;  but  I  am  convinced  now,  that  nothing 
tends  so  much  to  enervate  or  excite  (according  to  the  nature 
of  the  person)  as  leading  this  sort  of  unsettled  life.  It  is 
the  dull  round  of  hours   for  meals,  and  sleep,  and   exercise, 


154  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

which  is  most  likely  to  preserve  health,  and  that  calm  of 
spirit  which,  though  it  precludes  vivid  sensations  of  pleasure, 
spares  those  who  lead  such  lives  many  a  severe  pang.  It 
was  not  so  once,  however,  with  me,  and  when  I  look  at 
what  I  have  just  written,  I  say,  Is  it  /  who  have  thus  spoken 
— I  who  once  sought  with  eagerness  to  escape  that  odious 
"  peace,"  which  I  now  covet  as  the  greatest  blessing?  It  is 
even  so. 

I  dined  at  Kensington.  A  Mr.  Mills  dined  with  her  Royal 
Highness.  I  never  saw  him  there  before,  and  I  could  not  dis- 
cover who  he  is,  or  any  thing  else  about  him,  except  that  he 
has  very  white  teeth  and  very  festooned  lips. 

31st  December,  1813. — In  looking  back  upon  the  past  there 
is  always  much  melancholy  reflection  excited,  but  it  is  a 
wholesome  melancholy,  and  I  wish  not  to  avoid  it.  How 
little  I  have  done  or  thought,  that  has  left  me  a  pleasant  re- 
membrance !  How  much  time  has  passed  that  has  been  wasted 
in  idleness,  and  in  that  worst  idleness,  the  idleness  of  the  mind  I 
I  know  and  regret  that  it  has  been  so,  but  I  have  never  had  the 
power" to  overcome  the  languor  and  laziness,  which  have  taken 
possession  of  my  faculties.  In  justice  to  myself,  though,  I 
must  say,  it  is  circumstances  which  have  rendered  me  thus — 
it  is  not  my  nature.  Time,  which  either  lessens  or  increases 
regret,  will,  I  hope,  bring  with  it  healing  for  me  under  its 
wings,  and  I  have  made  many  wise  plans  for  the  future,  and 
framed  many  good  resolutions,  which  I  hope  I  shall  be  able 
to  fulfil. 

In  the  course  of  the  last  four  months,  the  changes  that 
have  taken  place  in  the  political  world  are  of  so  vast  a  magni- 
tude, that  my  intellect  is  not  great  enough  to  compre- 
hend them.  Holland  is  free,  Germany  and  Sweden  also  have 
shaken  off  the  tyrant's  yoke ;  in  short,  his  own  speech  to 
the  senators  at  Paris,  proves  sufficiently  Bonaparte's  altered 
state, — "all  Europe  was  with  us,  all  Europe  is  now  against 
us" — no  more  needs  be  added  to  such  a  confession.  We 
have  taken  all  the  merit  of  these  changes  to  ourselves,  with 
what  justice,  I  am  not  competent  to  decide;  certainly  Lord 
Wellington  is  a  great  hero,  and  certainly  we  have  been  partly 
the  means  of  liberating  Spain:  but  I  have  sometimes  in  my 
own  mind  doubted,  whether  the  opprobrium  thrown  upon 
the  Spaniards  was  not  exaggerated,  and  might  not  be  an  artful 
contrivance  of  out  Government  to  encourage  the  idea,  in  order 
that  a  greater  share  of  glory  might  attach  to  us ;   while  such 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  155 

a  notion  suited  Lord  Wellington's  ambition,  who  wished  to  have 
the  sole  command,  and  whose  views  perhaps  did  not  even 
end  there.  So  many  events  in  private  life  are  so  very  dif- 
ferent, when  truly  known,  from  what  appearances  bespeak 
them,  that  it  is  impossible  to  believe  the  same  deceit  is  not 
practised  on  a  larger  scale;  for  the  passions  of  nations,  like 
those  of  smaller  communities,  are,  after  all,  only  the  aggre- 
gate passions  of  mankind  individually,  and  are  as  liable  to 
influence,  and  to  lead  to  falsehood,  prejudice,  injustice  and 
crime,  in  the  great  political  world,  as  they  are  in  the  domestic 
concerns  of  life. 

It  has  been  said,  that  we  have  been  the  only  nation,  during 
these  last  twenty-four  years,  that   has  held   out  against  the 
tyranny  and  anarch}7  which  ravaged  or  confounded  Europe. 
But  when  I  consider  our  opinions  and  promises  respecting 
the  restoration  of  the  Fiench  monarchy,  and  see  how  widely 
we  now  differ  from  those  opinions,  and  fall  short  of  the  ful- 
filment of  those  promises,  I  cannot  help  thinking,  that  neither 
nations,  nor  individuals,  should  be  hasty  to  enter  into  engage- 
ments, since   the  very  nature  of  humanity  is  to   render   all 
things  around  us  mutable,  and  that  it  is  utterly  impossible  we 
should  not  partake  in  some  degree  of  the  general  condition.  In 
regard  to  these  last  great  Continental  changes,  my  opinion  is 
that  if  any  one  individual  has  been   instrumental  more  than 
another  in    effecting  them,   it  has  been  the  Crown  Prince 
(Bernadotte).     A   Frenchman  himself,  lie  knows  how  to  act 
upon  Frenchmen,  and,  as  a  native  of  the  Continent,  he  knows 
belter  the  continental  systems  than  we  do.     The  weakness 
of  all  persons  (with  few  exceptions)  in  private  as  well  as  in 
public  life,  is  to  insist  upon  everybody's  being  managed  pre- 
cisely as  we  ourselves  have  been   managed.     The  narrower 
the  circle,  and  the  more  confined  the  spot,  on  which  we  live, 
the  more  (generally  speaking)  will   our  views  and  wills   be 
limited,  and   unfit  for  general  application.     /  believe,  there- 
fore, that  with  one  of  the  finest  countries  and  constitutions  in 
the  world,  we  are  not  calculated,  as  islanders,  to  give  laws  to 
the  continent,  or  to  subdue  its  people ;  let  us  merely  endea- 
vour honourably  to  maintain  our  own  laws  and  liberties  invi- 
olate, and    to  be    satisfied  with   that   safe  and    stable    power, 
which  our  insular  situation,  and  our  internal  greatness  bestow 
upon  us  ;  but  to  subdue  France,  or  impose  upon  its  people 
any  government  that  is  not  of  their  own  choosing,  appears  to 
me  folly, — to  relieve  the  oppressed,  to  maintain  them  ever, 


156  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

as  we  have  done,  is  noble,  as  a  nation  of  Christians,  and  of 
good  and  brave  men  ;  but  for  their  sakes  to  keep  up  perpetual 
wars  with  other  nations,  seems  to  me  unwise.  Lending  our 
aid  to  Spain  is  an  exception,  and  I  view  it  in  a  very  different 
light;  we  only  went  with  what  we  were  at  first  told  was  the 
general  spirit  of  the  whole  nation  ;  it  was  not  in  favour  of  any 
one  family  or  dynasty  that  we  fought,  but  for  the  rights  of  an 
oppressed  people,  who  demanded  our  aid  and  succour ;  yet 
even  these  were  latterly  supposed  not  to  desire  our  assist- 
ance. So  seldom  is  it  that  foreign  troops  are  looked  upon 
with  a  favourable  eye  in  national  warfare. 

No  one  was  so  likely  to  be  able  to  defeat  Bonaparte  as  the 
Crown  Prince,  from  the  intimate  knowledge  he  possessed  of 
his  character.  Bernadotte  was  also  instigated  against  Bona- 
parte, by  one  who  not  only  owed  him  a  personal  hatred,  but 
who  possessed  a  mind  equal  to  his,  and  who  gave  the  Crown 
Prince  both  information  and  advice  how  to  act — it  was  no 
less  a  person  than  Madame  de  Stael  who  gave  him  her 
counsel.  It  was  not,  as  some  have  asserted,  that  she  was  in 
love  with  Bernadotte,  for  at  the  time  of  their  intimacy  Ma- 
dame de  Stael  was  in  love  with  Rocca ;  but  she  used  her  in- 
fluence (which  was  not  small)  with  the  Crown  Prince,  to 
make  him  fight  against  Bonaparte,  and  to  her  wisdom  may 
be  attributed  much  of  the  success  which  accompanied  his  at* 
tack  upon  him.  Bernadotte  has  raised  the  flame  of  liberty, 
which  seems  fortunately  to  blaze  all  around  :  may  it  liberate 
Europe — and  from  the  ashes  of  the  laurel,  may  olive  branches 
spring  up  and  overshadow  the  earth  ! 

I  wish,  ardently  wish,  individually  for  peace  ;  but,  I  think, 
I  wish  for  it  also  from  that  spirit  of  humanity,  which  cannot 
hear  of  a  land  saturated  with  blood,  and  not  shrink  aghast 
from  all  the  desolation  of  heart  which  it  implies.  My  private 
life  has  been  calm  ;  no  very  lively  emotions  have  given  a  high 
zest  to  existence,  and  a  constant  pressure  has  lowered  the 
tone  of  my  intellect,  and  reigned  in  my  imagination.  I  wish 
to  be  able  to  leave  England  and  visit  foreign  countries  ;  I  long 
for  an  opportunity  to  extend  my  observations,  and  to  acquire 
new  matter  for  my  mind  to  feed  upon.       *  * 

I  check  my  eager  longings,  however,  because  I  know  that 
we  are  erring  mortals,  and  that  our  views  for  ourselves  are 
generally  not  those  which  are  for  our  good.  I  recollect  also 
that  everything  which  I  have  earnestly  longed  for  has  come 
to  pass,  and  yet  the  events  thus  desired,  are  precisely  those 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  157 

which  have  least  tended  to  my  felicity;  indeed,  in  many  in- 
stances, have  been  productive  of  misery.  I  say  therefore  to 
my  folly,  Be  subdued ;  for  the  wisdom  of  man's  desire  is 
only  folly ;  and  to  my  eager  wish  of  change,  Be  suppressed, 
for  there  are  many  changes  which  would  make  me  miserable, 
and  few  that  could  make  me  happier.  However,  hopes  and 
wishes  must  exist  while  life  remains,  and  we  must  act  if  we 
would  enjoy.  It  is  only  an  overweening  eagerness,  a  repin- 
ing spirit,  whose  gratified  desires  are  liable  to  turn  to  curses. 
A  moderated  wish,  made  in  humble  subserviency  to  the 
Divine  power,  cannot  draw  down  upon  us  the  displeasure  of 
heaven. 


SECTION  III. 

Sunday,  January  9th,  1814. — Yesterday,  according  to  ap- 
pointment, I  went  to  Princess  Charlotte  ;  found  at  Warwick 
House  the  harp-player  Dizzi ;  was  asked  to  remain  and  listen 
to  his  performance,  but  was  talked  to  during  the  whole  time, 
which  completely  prevented  all  possibility  of  listening  to  the 
music.  The  Duchess  of  Leeds  and  her  daughter  were  in  the 
room,  but  left  it  soon.  Next  arrived  Miss  Knight,  who  re- 
mained  all   the  time  I  was  there.     Princess  Charlotte  was 

very  gracious — showed  me  all  her  bonny  dyes,  as  B 

would  have  called  them,  pictures,  and  cases,  and  jewels,  &c. 
She  talked  in  a  very  desultory  way,  and  it  would  be  difficult 
to  say  of  what.  She  observed  her  mother  was  in  very  low 
spirits.  I  asked  her  how  she  supposed  she  could  be  other- 
wise— this  questioning  answer  saves  a  great  deal  of  trouble., 
and  serves  two  purposes — i.  e.  avoids  committing  oneself,  or 
giving  offence  by  silence.  There  was  hung  in  the  apartment 
one  poi trait,  amongst  others,  that  very  much  resembled  the 

Duke  of  D .     I  asked  Miss  Knight  whom  it  represented; 

she  said  that  was  not  known  :  it  has  been  supposed  a  likeness 
of  the  Pretender  when  young.  This  answer  suited  my 
thoughts  so  comically,  I  could  have  laughed,  if  one  ever  did 
at  courts  anything  but  the  contrary  of  what  one  was  inclined 
to  do.  Princess  Charlotte  has  a  very  great  variety  of  ex- 
pression in  her  countenance, — a  play  of  features  and  a  force 
of  muscle  rarely  seen  with  such  soft  and  shadeless  colouring. 
Her  hands  and  arms  are  beautiful,  but  I  think  her  figure  is 
already  gone,  and  will  soon  be  precisely  like  her  mother's. 

Vol.  I.  H 


158  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

In  short,  it  is  the  very  picture  of  her,  and  not  in  miniature. 
I  could  not  help  analysing  my  own  sensations  during  the  time 
I  was  with  her,  and  thought  more  of  them  even  than  I  did  of 
her.  Why  was  I  at  all  flattered,  at  all  more  amused,  at  all 
more  supple  to  this  young  Princess,  than  to  her  who  is  only 
the  same  sort  of  person  set  in  the  shade  of  circumstances  and 
of  years?  It  is  that  youth  and  the  approach  of  power,  and 
the  latent  views  of  self  interest,  sway  the  heart  and  dazzle  the 
understanding.  If  this  is  so  with  a  heart  not,  I  trust,  corrupt, 
and  a  head  not  particularly  formed  to  interested  calculations, 
what  effect  must  the  same  causes  produce  on  the  generality 
of  mankind  ?  In  the  course  of  the  conversation,  the  Princess 
Charlotte  contrived  to  e(\ge  in  a  good  deal  of  tum-de-dy,  and 
would,  if  I  had  entered  into  the  thing,  have  gone  on  with  it, 
while  looking  at  a  little  picture  of  herself,  which  had  about 
thirty  or  forty  different  dresses  to  put  over  it,  done  on  isin- 
glass, and  which  allowed  the  general  colouring  of  the  picture 
to  be  seen  through  its  transparency,  and  was  I  thought  a 
pretty  enough  conceit,  though  rather  like  dressing  up  a  doll. 
"  Ah  !"  said  Miss  Knight,  "  I  am  not  content  though,  Ma'am, 
for  I  yet  should  have  liked  one  more  dress,  ihat  of  the  favour- 
ite Sultana."  "  No,  no!"  said  the  Princess,  "I  never  was  a 
favourite,  and  never  can  be  one," — looking  at  a  picture  which 
she  said  was  her  father's,  but  which  I  do  not  believe  was 
done  for  the  Regent  any  more  than  for  me,  but  represented  a 
young  man  in  a  hussar's  dress,  probably  a  former  favourite. 
The  Princess  Charlotte  seemed  much  hurt  at  the  little  notice 
that  was  taken  of  her  birthday.  After  keeping  me  for  two 
hours  and  a  half,  she  dismissed  me,  and  I  am  sure  I  could 
not  say  what  she  said,  except  that  it  was  an  oglio  ofdecousu 
and  heterogeneous  things,  partaking  of  the  characteristics  of 
her  mother,  grafted  on  a  younger  scion.  I  dined  tete-a-tete 
with  my  dear  old  aunt ;  hers  is  always  a  sweet  and  soothing 
society  to  me. 

January   10th,    1814. — I  read   several  chapters   of  Miss 

B 's  work,  a  comparative  view  of  the  English  and  French 

nations,  since  the  time  of  Charles  II.  to  the  present  day.  I 
think  this  work  a  most  sterling  performance,  and  one,  from 
the  nature  of  its  subject  as  well  as  the  grave  and  masterly 
manner  in  which  she  treats  it,  likely  to  do  honour  to  her 

memory.     I  hear  Miss  B has  been  reproached  with  its 

being  too  grave :  I  think  the  sober,  chastened  style  in  which 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  159 

it  is  written  suits  the  dignity  of  the  matter.  A  lighter  pen 
might  have  found  de  quoi  to  have  made  a  continuation  of  that 
most  amusing  and  immoral  work,  the  Memoires  de  Gram- 
mont,  but  where  a  deeper  tone  of  thought  induces  a  higher 
aim  than  mere  wit  and  entertainment,  surely  she  has  chosen 
more  appropriate  means  to  attain  her  object. 

It  is  the  most  severely  cold  weather  we  have  had  for  many 

winters  past.     I  called   on   Miss ;  she  was  full  of  the 

politics  of  the  day,  or  rather  I  should  say,  events,  for  truly 
the  great  catastrophe  of  the  fate  of  Europe,  takes  a  higher 
character  than  that  of  mere  court  politics.  There  was  a  re- 
port that  Lord  Yarmouth,  who  was  just  arrived,  had  said, 
that  in  a  few  days  tUe  allies  would  be  at  Paris,  as  the  country 
made  no  resistance  to  their  progress.  It  is  also  said  that  a 
deputation  to  Louis  the  Eighteenth  has  arrived  from  France. 
Wonderful  indeed  will  be  the  hour  which  sees  that  monarch 
again  seated  on  his  throne.  How  far  the  restoration  of  the 
Bourbons  might  be  productive  of  happiness  to  France,  I  can- 
not pretend  to  determine:  certainly,  I  would  not  have  more 
blood  shed  on  their  account,  or  on  any  account;  but  if  the 
people  will  with  one  voice  receive  them,  I  believe  I  have  a 
hankering  at  my  heart  that  those  remaining  of  the  old  race 
should  resume  the  sceptre  of  their  ancestors.  After  all,  their 
misfortunes  are  more  likely  to  render  them  deserving  than 
any  other  person  might  be  ;  and  God  perhaps  will  now  re- 
ward" them  after  their  tiials.  Yet  I  confess,  considering 
Bonaparte  as  a  conqueror,  I  do  not  know  that  he  is  worse 
than  all  conquerors  have  ever  been.  What  seas  of  blood 
they  have  all  waded  through,  to  gain  their  ambitious  ends  ! 
In  spite  of  his  crimes  and  of  his  heartless  character,  I  think 
him  gieat,  and  wherever  there  is  superior  intellect,  I  cannot 
help  in  some  degree  paying  homage  to  that  divine  impress. 
I  should  be  sorry  that  that  -man  was  shown  about  for  lesser 
villains  to  hoot  at,  or  that  he  was  massacred  to  satisfy  the 
rage  of  an  undistinguishing  multitude. 

The  circumstance  which  gives  me  the  greatest,  dislike  to 
Bonaparte,  is  his  having  put  away  his  wife  Josephine,  whom 
he  did  not  accuse  of  any  fault,  save  that  she  did  not  give  him 
an  heir  to  succeed  to  his  crown.  Nothing  can,  in  my  idea, 
pardon  this  vile  action;  and  I  cannot  understand  how  Jose- 
phine condescended  to  receive  his  visits  and  his  expressions 
of  attachment,  after  he  had  behaved  so  cruelly  to  her.  The 
only  thing  that  can  reconcile  this  to  one's  understanding  is, 
that  a  woman  will   do   and  suffer  much  when   she   loves. 


160  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

There  lias  been  a  little  scandal  reported  of  Josephine,  but 
still  it  amounts  to  nothing  more  than  rumour — her  husband 
never  accused  her.  He  set  her  aside  as  a  useless  appendage 
to  his  state,  but  he  continued  to  profess  affection  for  her  even 
to  the  day  of  his  death. 

Every  wife,  every  woman,  sympathised  with  Josephine ; 
her  situation  excited  in  her  own  sex  universal  pity.  Since 
the  time  of  Henry  VIII.  there  had  been  no  such  instance  of 
injustice  in  a  monarch.  Josephine  was  kind-hearted  and 
generous,  she  did  many  acts  of  charity,  and  was  besides  a 
very  fascinating  woman.  These  qualities,  together  with  her 
cruel  fate,  will  make  her  a  heroine  in  history,  and  her  rival, 
Maria  Louise,  will  stand  opposed  to  her  as  heartless  and 
vain  ;  for  when  people  pitied  her,  supposing  she  was  a  victim 
to  Bonaparte's  power,  she  disclaimed  such  pity  by  appearing 
happy,  and  pleased  with  the  great  station  to  which  her  mar- 
riage with  him  exalted  her.  She  has  a  child,  a  son  ;  so  it 
would  seem  as  if  she  were  to  be  a  favourite  with  heaven. 

At  five  o'clock  I  was  at  Connaught  House ;  found  Lady 
Anne  dressed  out  like  a  mad  Chinese.  Miss  Garth  very 
quiet,  as  usual.  The  Princess,  arrayed  in  crimson  velvet 
up  to  the  throat,  looking  very  well.  '  Shortly  after,  arrived 
Princess  Charlotte  and  the  Duchess  of  Leeds:  the  former 
took  very  little  notice  of  her  mother,  so  little  that  I  do  not 

wonder  the  Princess  of  W was  hurt.     She  took  me  by 

the  arm  and  led  me  to  the  fireplace,  and  I  saw  she  was  r*eady 
to  weep  :  I  felt  for  her.  Princess  Charlotte  addressed  her- 
self wholly  to  Miss  Garth  ;  and,  as  in  a  few  moments  Prin- 
cess Sophia  came,  she  laid  hold  of  her,  and  conversed  aside 
with  her  ;  all  which  must  have  been  most  cutting  to  the  mo- 
ther's heart.  Oh  !  what  an  evening  of  deceit,  and  of  cold- 
ness, and  of  cunning!     At  dinner  I  had  an  opportunity  of 

speaking  to  Miss  D- about#the   old   story  of  the  paper 

Mrs.  N.  had  lent  to  me,  and  which  she  thought  I  kept  for  some 
sinister  purpose.  Miss  D said  that  her  sister  had  ex- 
pressed herself  warmly  about  me  before  her  death.  That 
may  or  may  not  have  been,  but  I  was  glad  of  an  opportunity 
of  telling  that  worldly-minded  woman  that  I  am  not  a  spy. 
During  dinner  time  I  heard  the  Princess  pouring  dissatisfac- 
tion into  her  daughter's  ear — if  it  was  not  there  already — 
saying,  "all  the  world  had  hoped  for  promotions,  and  for 
emancipation  from  prisons,  &c,  &c,  the  day  of  her  coming 
of  age,  but  that  no  public  testimony  of  joy  had  been  shown 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  161 

on  the  occasion,  and  it  had  passed  away  in  a  mournful 
silence."  Princess  Charlotte  was  considerably  struck,  and 
replied,  "  Oh,  but  the  war  and  the  great  expenses  of  the  na- 
tion occasion  my  coming  of  age  to  be  passed  over  at  present." 

"  A  very  good  excuse,  truly,"  said  the  Princess  of  W , 

"  and  you  are  child  enough  to  believe  it !"  and  so  ended  all  I 
heard  them  say. 

Friday,  14th  Jan. — Saw  Messrs.  G.  and  C. ;  they  told  me 
that  they  are  both  perfectly  aware  to  what  a  low  ebb  things 
have  run  ;  nevertheless  they  are  good  and  faithful,  and  regret 
for  her  sake  the  imprudencies  and  follies  she  is  perpetually 
committing  ;  but  haw  long  the  Princess  will  find  others  so, 

God  knows!     Lady told  me  she  drove  out  yesterday 

for  five-  minutes  only  ;  groaned  and  found  fault,  and  returned  ; 

then  made  Lady sit  with  her  till  seven  listening  to  a 

perpetual,  wicked,  and  nonsensical  repetition  of  evils,  the 
most  of  which  she  forges  herself.  Chanticleer  did  not  come 
to  dinner,  which  caused  great  rage  and  despair. 

Saturday. — I  dined  at  Connaught  House  ;  Lady was 

ill,  to  my  great  sorrow,  not  only  for  her  sake  but  my  own. 
Chanticleer  dined  there.  1  read  a  novel  all  the  evening,  but 
yet  his  very  presence  is  horridly  degrading. 

Sunday. — I  went  to  inquire  for  Lady ;  she  saw   me 

and  told  me  she  had  been  much  distressed  this  morning,  for 
that  Miss  B and  Mr.  K had  called  and  been  admit- 
ted to   the  Princess,  but   that   her  extreme  ill-humour  must 

have  been  visible.     Miss  B told  her  some  home  truths 

in  a  very  proper  manner,  but  Lady said  that  every  sub- 
ject that  was  touched  upon,  novels,  public  news,  &c,  all 
were  equally  displeasing  or  indifferent  to  her  Royal  High- 
ness. Lady said  that  to  her  the  Princess  always  main- 
tains the  language  and  manners  of  friendship  and  of  real 
liking  ;  "  this,"  she  said,  "  distresses  and  wounds  me,  be- 
cause I  cannot  really  be  her  friend  ;  she  will  not  hear  the 
truth."  Yesterday  the  Princess  told  her  that  she  was  of  the 
greatest  comfort  to  her,  and  she  often  does  so  after  conversa- 
tions which    make  Lady  feel  the    reverse.     Lady 

said  to  me  that   this  contradiction  of  sentiments  harasses  her 

more  than  she  can  express.     H has  engaged  to  advam  e 

the  Princess  two  thousand  pounds  in  the  course  of  twelve 

14* 


162  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

months,  by  instalments  of  five  hundred  each ;  I  do  trust  thai 
she  will  not  deceive  him.  She  is  to  pay  two  hundred  a  year 
for  the  money  till  the  sum  is  paid  off,  or  till  some  change 
enables  her  to  do  so.  I  warned  him  sufficiently  as  to  the 
paction  he  was  entering  into  ;  so  he  has  done  it  with  his  eyes 
open  :  besides,  he  told  me  plainly  she  can  serve  him  in  two 
instances,  and  he  expects  she  will  do  so.  The  Princess  sent 
to  desire  me  to  go  to  Mr.  St.  Leger,  as  he  is  too  ill  to  wait 
on  her,  and  ask  him  to  procure  the  lease  of  her  house  left  her 
by  her  mother,  from  Mr.  Le  Blanc,  which  she  wants  to  give 
Mr.  H.  as  security  for  the  payment  of  the  debt  contracted  to 
him.  I  hope  she  will  get  that  lease ;  it  is  the  only  security 
she  can  give.  Oh  !  how  the  Princess  talks  of  her  mother, 
till  really  my  blood  freezes  to  hear  a  mother  so  spoken  of  by 
a  daughter ;  and  that  I  should  listen  to  such  conversation 
with  apparent  quietness  !  At  luncheon  her  Royal  Highness 
was  in  high  spirits.  "  Shall  I  tell  you  something  very  cu- 
rious ?"  said  she.  1  knew  it  was  in  vain  to  stop  the  tide,  so 
I  did  not  attempt  it.  "  I  went  one  day,"  she  continued,  "  in 
September  to  walk  from  my  house  at  Blackheath  with  Miss 
Garth  to  Mr.  Angerstein's,  who  was  very  ill  at  that  time  ;  I 
went  out  the  back  way  from  my  garden  through  Greenwich 
Park,  so  that  nobody  could   know   me."     Hem  !  thought  I. 

"  Well,  my  dear ,  I  was  followed  by  two  gipsies,  who 

insisted  on  telling  my  fortune  ;  I  have  no  money,  said  I,  but 
they  persisted  in  following  me  and  did  so  till  I  came  to  Mr. 
Angerstein's  gate  :  I  then  told  them  that  if  they  would  wait 
there,  they  should  tell  my  fortune  when  I  returned.  I  found 
them  there  on  my  return,  and  what  do  you  think  they  told 
me?"  The  Princess  looked  fixedly  at  me,  and  rolled  her 
eyes  with  that  quick,  penetrating  glance  which  seems  to  exa- 
mine all  the  folds  of  one's  thoughts  at  the  same  moment. 
"  I  am  sure,  madam,  I  cannot  guess."  "  Why  they  told  me 
that  I  was  a  married  woman,  but  that  I  should  not  be  married 
long ;  and  that  my  heart  was  a  foreigner's,  and  that  I  should 
go  abroad  and  there  marry  the  man  I  loved,  and  be  very  rich 
and  happy — they  did,  by  G — ,  tell  me  so,  and  how  could 
they  know  that  ?" 

How,  indeed,  unless  they  had  been  tutored  to  the  tale  ? 
This  was  to  myself.  What  I  replied  aloud  was,  "Very 
strange,  indeed,  ma'am,  but  they  make  up  many  curious  and 
nonsensical  tales  ;  that  is  their  trade."  "  'Twas  very  odd," 
she  said,    looking    significantly;  "was  it  not  very   odd?" 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  163 

This  conversation  was  all,  save  what  I  dread  most;  and  the 
horror  of  thinking  I  shall  one  day  hear  it,  and  that  ere  long, 
et  en  detail,  is  the  most  terrible  thought,  and  makes  me  very 
uneasy  whenever  her  Royal  Highness  honours  me  by  a  tete- 
a-tete  interview.  She  swore  to  me  as  she  was  standing  by 
the  fire  the  other  day,  apropos  des  bottes,  that  Willikin  was 
not  her  son.  "  No,"  said  she,  "  I  would  tell  you  if  he  was. 
No,"  she  continued,  "  if  such  little  accident  had  happened, 
I  would  not  hide  it  from  you.  He  is  not  William  Austen, 
though,"  added  she  ;  but,  avouez-moi,  it  was  very  well 
managed  that  nobody  should  know  who  he  really  is,  nor  shall 
they  till  after  my  death."  I  replied,  "  I  thought  it  was  no- 
body's business  who*  the  boy  was,  and  that  T,  for  one,  had  no 
curiosity  to  know."  "  That  is  for  why  I  tell  you,"  replied 
the  Princess. 

"  Then  somebody  ask  me  who  Willikin  is  de  child  of. 
De  person  say  to  me,  '  Dey  do  say,  he  is  your  Royal  High- 
ness's  child.'  I  answered,  '  Prove  it,  and  he  shall  be  your 
king.'  The  person  was  silent."  After  that,  1  could  not 
resist  laughing,  and  the  Princess  laughed  also.  She  takes 
great  pleasure  in  making  her  auditor  stare.  After  a  pause, 
she  said,  "  Poor  dear  Willikin,  I  am  so  sorry  he  is  growing 
big,  but  I  am  determined  to  have  another  little  boy  ;  I 
must  always  have  a  child  in  the  house."  I  lifted  my 
eyes  to  her  person  ;  I  really  fancied  I  saw  the  full  meaning 
of  her  words  ;  but  she  met  my  glance  with  a  steady  com- 
posure which  reassured  me,  for  I  thought  no  one  could 
look  so  calm,  so  bold,  were  there  any  thing  to  be  ashamed 
of;  and  I  replied,  "But,  madam,  you. have  the  same  in- 
terest in  Willikin  that  ever  you  had."  "Oh!  yes,  to  be 
sure,  I  love  him  dearly,  but  I  must  have  a  tittle  child ;  he 
is  growing  too  big,  too  much  of  a  man."  The  conversation 
then  changed,  for  I  said  nothing — what  could  I  say — though 
I  thought  much.  If  she  only  adopts  another  very  young 
child,  and  that  the  transaction  be  perfectly  innocent,  still  evil 
will  be  attached  to  it;  again  her  enemies  will  have  something 
to  say  against  her.  Poor  foolish  woman,  that  she  should  not 
see  that  in  taking  another  child  under  hei  protection,  she  will 
lay  herself  open  to  fresh  accusations  to  be  brought  against 
her.  She  does  not  want  sense  ;  yet  such  folly  I  never  saw 
before  in  a  person  not  bereft  of  her  senses.  I  dared  not  tell 
her  how  imprudent  I  thought  she  would  be  if  she  gratified 
this  wish  for  a  young  child.  I  wish  she  had  some  friend 
who  would  tell  her  the  truth.     I  have  often  thought  that  her 


164  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

* 

Royal  Highness's  having  no  confidants  in  her  ladies,  was  a 
very  fortunate  circumstance,  and  I  have  said  this  to  her  face. 
Yet  I  earnestly  desire  that  she  had  some  wise  counsellor 
who  had  influence  over  her. 

Monday. — I  dined  at  Connaught  House.  Old  Ouran  Ou- 
tang  came  in  the  evening.  The  Princess  went  down  stairs 
for  some  music,  and  when  she  came  up  was  ready  to  fall 
with  breathlessness  ;  this  lasted  for  some  minutes,  for  I  was 
sitting  with  my  back  to  the  pianoforte,  reading,  but,  on 
chancing  to  look  round,  I  saw  her  look  significantly  to  S. 
and  say,  "  If  you  knew  what  it  is," — then  catching  my  eye, 
she  added,  "  so  soon  after  dinner,  to  run  up  down  staircase." 
I  looked  stedfastly  at  her  Royal  Highness,  but  she  never 
flinched  beneath  my  gaze.  No,  I  do  not  believe  her  guilty, 
but  I  wish  to  heaven  she  did  not  talk  such  nonsense. 

Tuesday. — Lady  told  me  the  old  Ouran  and  his  wife 

were  with  the  Princess  the  whole  day;  that  at  dinner  she 
cried  and  looked  very  ill,  said  she  had  been  so  all  night,  and 
seemed  really  suffering.  After  dinner  her  Royal  Highness 
made  a  wax  figure  as  usual,  and  gave  it  an  amiable  addition 
of  large  horns  ;  then  took  three  pins  out  of  her  garment  and 
stuck  them  through  and  through  and  put  the  figure  to  roast 
and  melt  at  the  fire.     If  it  was  not  too  melancholy  to  have  to 

do  with  this,  1  could  have  died  of  laughing.    Lady says 

the  Princess  indulges  in  this  amusement  whenever  there  aie 
no  strangers  at  table;  and  she  thinks  her  Royal  Highness 
really  has  a  superstitious  belief  that  destroying  this  effigy  of 
her  husband,  will  bring  to  pass  the  destruction  of  his  royal 
person.  What  a  silly,  piece  of  spile  !  Yet  it  is  impossible 
not  to  laugh  when  one  sees  it  done. 

Saturday,  29lh  January. — I  dined  at  Connaught  House, 

and  passed  three  hours  of  dulness   with  Madame  S and 

the  Princess.  After  dinner  Thomas  Campbell  came.  The 
Princess  did  nothing  but  try  to  amuse  that  ch,ild  Willikin, 
who  will  be  a  thorn  in  her  side  yet,  if  she  lives.     Campbell 

and   Lady  talked   and   recited   verses,   which   did  not 

please  her  Royal  Highness  ;  nothing  entertains  her  except 
talking  of  her  grievances,  which  always  at  the  moment  affect 
me,  and  which  are,  in  the  great  outline,,  true,  but  unfortu- 
nately I  know  all  tl^e  filling  up  of  the  picture,  and  that  is  so 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  165 

silly,  so  despicable,  that  one  becomes  indignant  at  having 
one's  feelings  excited  in  favour  of  a  cause  where  there  is  so 
much  to  blame  on  both  sides  ;  and  one  can  only  regard  it  in 
oneself  as  a  piece  of  weak  tenderness,  an  animal  sensation 
rather  than  a  mental  sympathy,  to  feel  anything  for  evils  of 
such  a  nature,  and  most  of  them  of  a  self-constituted  kind. 

Sunday. — I  called  on  Lady  W .     She  has  tranquil  and 

dignified  manners,  though  rather  cold.  She  was,  in  her  youth, 
exceedingly  handsome,  it  is  said,  and  long  held  in  thrall  Lord 

H ,  but  always  with  safety  to  her  own  character.     Her 

love  of  command  superseded  all  other  love,  and  her  husband 
never  dared  to  say  his  soul  was  his  own,  although  a  very 
amiable  man  ;  this  cast  a  ridicule  upon  him,  as  it  will  upon 
all    those  who  are  foolish  enough  to  allow   their  wives  to 

usurp  authority  over   them.     Lady  told  me   that  the 

Princess  complains  of  being  beset  by  spies,  that  she  abused 
all  her  servants,  especially  Mrs.  Robarts ;  in  which  idea 
Lady assured  her  she  was  mistaken. 

The  Princess  wishes  to  have  a  lodging  in  the  country,  that 
she  may  go  there  unaccompanied  by  her  household.  What  a 
mad  scheme  !  but  when  she  is  determined  to  do  a  thing,  who 
can  stop  her? 

All  of  a  sudden  the  Princess  sent  out  cards  for  a  dinner 
party ;  all  the  persons  she  invited  were  of  the  opposition.  I 
dare  say  it  will  be  said  that  she  lives  entirely  with  these  per- 
sons, and  low  company  ;  the  latter,  alas  !  is  but  too  true. 

To-day  I  dined  at  Connaught  House ;  the  Princess  Char- 
lotte was  there  ;  she  was  in  her  most  gracious  mood,  but  ap- 
peared low-spirited.  The  Princess  Sophia  of  Gloucester 
was  also  of  the  party  ;  they  left  Connaught  House  early,  and 
none  of  the  royal  party  seemed  pleased  with  one  another. 

— I  fame  to  town  Thursday,  24th  February.  I  never 
leave  home  without  regret  ;  life  is  so  short,  so  uncertain,  that 
it  seems  to  me  as  if  all  voluntary  absence  from  what  we  love 
most,  is  folly.  1  dined  with  my  aunt,  and  went  in  the  even- 
ing to  Miss  .      I  made  acquaintance  with   a  Monsieur 

D'Erfeuil ;  he  has  a  clever-looking  countenance,  but  with  a 
cast  of  the  eye,  not  unlike  that  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  and 


166  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

his  expression  implies  insincerity.  I  heard  that  it  is  thought 
Mr.  Robinson,  Lord  Grantham's  brother,  has  brought  over 
dispatches  which  are  of  a  nature  to  force  our  government  to 
make  peace  with  Bonaparte.  I  am  sorry  for  these  poor 
deceived  Bourbons,  but  not  sorry  for  the  peace  which  is 
talked  of. 

Friday. — I  dined  at  Lord  F.  C.'s ;  it  is  melancholy  to  see 
one  of  a  distinguished  family  reduced  to  living  in  so  little  and 
mean  a  house,  and  the  more  so  as  he  is  thus  reduced  from  a 
mistaken  notion  that  he  is  acting  rightly  ;  and  what  is  yet 
more  grievous  to  his  friends  is,  that  it  is  impossible  to  be  of 
any  service  to  him,  because  his  heart  only  half  opens,  and 
before  one  can  get  a  place  in  it,  it  closes  again.  We  played 
at  dull  cards.  I  escaped  as  soon  as  I  could.  I  went  to  Mrs. 
Villiers,  and  from  Mrs.  Villiers  to  Madame  de  Stael ;  at  Mrs. 
Villiers's  I  saw  Mr.  Arbuthnot  and  his  bride;  she  is  very 
pretty,  but  it  is  what  is  vulgarly  called  Pig  Beauty,  in  English  ; 
in  French,  la  Beaute  du  Diable,  i.  e.,  Youth.  He  is  all  fire 
and  flames  and  love,  selon  son  ordinaire,  and  so  very  proud 
of  her !  It  is  rather  agreeable  to  see  any  person  so  com- 
pletely happy.  There  was,  standing  close  by  him,  a  person 
whom,  twenty  years  ago,  he  had  been  madly  in  love  with. 
She  had,  it  was  said,  behaved  remarkably  well,  but  yet  there 
was  such  a  melancholy  in  seeing 

"  The  object  alter'd,  the  desire  the  same." — 

It  was  such  a  perfect  illustration  of  the  instability  of  all  hu- 
man affections,  that  I  stood  and  philosophized  on  my  own 
heart  and  that  of  the  rest  of  mankind,  despising  alike  the 
one  and  the  other;  but  this  anger  against  myself  never  lasts 
long:  on  se  raeommode  si  facilement  avec  ce  que  Ton  aime  ! 
From  Mrs.  Villiers  I  proceeded  to  Madame  de  Stael's.  I 
saw  there  Monsieur  de  la  Gardi,  Monsieur  d'Erfeuil,  Messrs. 
Gell,  Craven,  and  Mercer,  Monsieur  de  Merfelt,  the  Austrian 
ambassador,  and  I  know  not  who  besides.  The  latter  has 
very  Ujjly  features,  but  a  pleasing  countenance.  I  made  ac- 
quaintance with  a  Lady  W.,  just  come  from  Paris,  who  has 
brought  a  packet  to  Lady  Hertford  from  the  ci-devant  Em- 
press Josephine,  which  packet  made  much  noise,  and  raised 
much  conjecture,  for  persons  inimical  to  the  R — t  were  glad 
to  catch  hold  of  it  as  a  subject  of  abuse.    Whether  the  story 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  167 

I  heard  concerning  the  presents  was  true  or  not,  I  cannot 
say  ;  but  it  is  curious.  Lady  W.  praised  Paris,  its  fashions, 
and  its  society  ;  which  latter,  she  says,  is  peculiarly  agreeable 
to  women. 

Saturday. — I  dined  with  Madame  de  Stael ;  there  were  no 

ladies  except  Miss  B and  Madame  de  Vaudreuil.     It  is 

always  delightful  to  be  in  Madame  de  Stacl's  society;  even 
those  persons  who  have  been  most  inimical  to  her,  have 
generally  been  subjugated  by  her  sincerity,  her  kindness,  and 
the  charm  of  her  conversation,  which,  unlike  that  of  any  other 
person,  male  or  female,  in  giving  out  her  own  ideas,  awakens 
those  of  her  hearers;  and  draws  them,  as  it  were  in  despite 
of  themselves,  to  a  reciprocity  of  communication  ;  thus  it  was 
that  Madame  de  Stael  acquired  a  knowledge  of  mankind, 
which  superseded  all  that  books  can  ever  teach.  From 
Madame  de  Stael's  I  proceeded  to  Lady  Salisbury's ;  I  met 

there   my   old   friend   Lord   D ;   he  is   not  particularly 

amusing,  but  he  has  been  my  friend  for  twenty  years  with- 
out ever  evincing  a  shade  less  of  kindness  towards  me  during 
that  long  period.  It  is  pleasant  to  have  such  a  friend,  and 
fully  compensates  for  want  of  superior  talent.  Lady  Salis- 
bury's* was  a  brilliant  assembly  ;  Lady  Melbourne  introduced 

*  Lady  Salisbury,  for  seventy  years,  formed  the  nucleus  of  all  distin- 
guished society  in  London.  She  had  an  extra  influence,  differing  from 
that  of  any  other  woman  of  her  rank  and  time,  for  she  added  to  every 
other,  that  of  being  considered  by  the  great  members  of  the  sporting  world 
almost  as  one  of  themselves.  Her  feats  of  horsemanship,  and  her  love  of 
the  chase,  brought  her  into  intimacy  with  characters  who  were  not  fre- 
quenters of  women's  society.  It  is  stated  that  the  last  time  Lady  Salis- 
bury took  the  field,  (a  very  few  years  before  her  death,)  all  the  gentlemen 
piesent  expressed  their  regret  at  seeing  her,  in  a  manner,  take  leave  of 
their  sport  for  ever.  This  passion,  which  might  be  supposed  to  create 
something  unpleasingly  masculine  in  a  female's  deportment,  had  not  this 
effect  upon  her;  there  never,  perhaps,  was  a  more  highly-bred  woman, 
or  one  whose  courtesy  to  persons  of  all  ranks  better  proved  the  greatness 
of  her  own.  It  is  to  be  regretted,  that  a  person  with  so  many  gifts  and 
graces,  and  who  possessed  so  much  influence  over  society,  should  have 
set  a  bad  example  by  holding  Sunday  assemblies.  When  the  bishops 
entreated  Lady  Salisbury  not  to  continue  her  card  parties  "  on  that 
night;"  she  is  said  to  have  replied — "  I. always  have  been  at  home  on  a 
Sunday,  and  I  always  will."  She  adhered  to  this  determination  to  the 
end  of  her  life.  Her  death  was  so  tragical,  that  it  excited  not  only  per- 
sonal regret  for  her  loss  amongst  her  friends  and  acquaintance,  but  left 
an  impression  of  horror  on  the  public  mind.     There  were  not  wanting 


168  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

me  to  a  Monsieur  de  Neyman,  an  Austrian,  who  seems  very 
agreeable.  I  like  the  society  just  now  in  London  ;  there  are 
many  foreigners.     Mademoiselle  de  Stael  is  very  clever  and 

agreeable  en  tete-a-tete,  Lady tells  me,  but  she  is  shy 

and  reserved  in  general  society ;  one  looks  at  her  with  inter- 
est, as  being  Madame  de  Stael's  daughter. 

Tuesday. — I  called  on  Mrs.  W.  Lock  to  ask  her  how  the 
Princess  had  received  my  excuse  which  I  sent  for  Sunday 
last.  Mrs.  L.  said  she  was  very  gracious  to  her,  and  spoke 
kindly  of  me.  Lady  E.  Whitbread,  and  Mrs.  W.,  and  Mrs. 
Beauclerk  dined  at  Kensington  that  day.  Mrs.  L.  told  me 
Lady  E.  Whitbread  appeared  shocked  when  she  looked  at 
the  Princess's  figure.  Mrs.  L.  ascribed  this  to  the  Princess's 
wearing  extremely  short  petticoats,  but  I  thought,  with  fear, 
that  perhaps  Lady  E.  Whitbread's  disgust  was  occasioned  by 
other  ideas;  although,  considering  the  legs  and  feet  which 
the  short  petticoats  display,  there  is  more  than  enough  to 
shock  a  woman  like  Lady  E. 

I  dined  with  my  aunt;  she  told  me  a  curious  anecdote  she 
had  heard  about  Caulincourt,  whom  one  had  hitherto  held 
in  abhorrence  as  the  murderer  of  the  unfortunate  Duke 
D'Enghien.  It  is  said,  that  when  he  was  sent  to  arrest  him, 
he  wished  to  save  him,  and,  entering  the  room  where  the 
Duke  was,  he  looked  round,  and  then  full  at  him,  as  at  a 
person  wholly  unknown  to  him  ;  then  turning  to  his  gens 
d'armes  who  attended  him,  he  said-~"  You  see  the  Duke  is 
not  here,  we  must  seek  him  elsewhere,"  when  a  lady  to 
whom  the  Duke  d'Enghien  was  attached  rushed  into  the 
room,  and  falling  on  her  knees  to  Caulincourt,  cried  out,  save 
him,  save  him;  "  Vous  le  voyez  devant  vous;  vous  n'avez 
pas  la  cruaute  de  le  perdre."  At  this  imprudence  Caulin- 
court was  obliged  to  execute  the  orders  he  had  received,  and 
he  desired  his  men  to  seize  their  unfortunate  victim.     How 

those  who  looked  upon  Lady  Salisbury's  awful  death  (she  was  burnt  in 
the  fire  at  Hatfield)  as  a  judgment  upon  her  for  her  disregard  of  her 
duties  to  her  God  ;  but  these  persons  should  remember  that  it  is  not  for 
man  to  judge  his  fellow  creature.  "  Suppose  ye  that  these  Galileans 
were  sinners  above  all  the  Galileans,  because  they  suffered  such  things  ? 
I  tell  you  nay,  but  except  ye  repent,  ye  shall  all  likewise  perish.  Or 
those  eighteen,  upon  whom  the  tower  in  Siloam  fell  and  slew  them ; 
think  ye  that  they  were  sinners  above  all  men  that  dwelt  in  Jerusalem  1 
I  tell  you  nay,  but  except  ye  repent,  ye  shall  all  likewise  perish." 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  169 

far  this  story  is  a  fabrication  or  not,  in  order  to  soften  people's 
judgments  against  the  man  of  whom  we  are  now  treating, 
rests  with  future  times  to  discover. 

Wednesday,  2d  of  March. — I  am  writing  from  the  Priory ; 
a  far  different  scene  of  wo  from   that  which  I  witnessed  at 

Lady  S 's.     Here  every  thing  is  to  be   as  if  no  change 

had  taken  place.  Poor  Lord  Abercorn  !  he  wishes  to  forget 
those  he  has  lost,  but  the  refnembrance  of  them  will  cling  to 
him  as  long  as  life  remains;  he  will  not  bend  to  the  storm, 
but  stands  erect  and  bids  it  defiance.  I  wish  I  could  give 
him  comfort  by  advising  him  where  to  seek  for  it,  where 
alone  it  is  to  be  found,  but  his  heart  is  hardened,  and  he  will 
not  believe;  yet  "it  is  hard  for  him  to  kick  against  the 
pricks/' 

To  day  I  received  a  letter  from  the  Princess  of  Wales  : — 

EXTRACT. 
"  Of  my  health  I  have  no  right  to  complain,  but  the  state 
of  suspense  and  the  ray  of  hope  I  had  for  some  days  past 
has  kept  my  mind  in  a  constant  state  of  perturbation;  but  this 
happy  vision  has  vanished,  and  the  monster  is  fast  recovering 
again.  Princess  Charlotte  I  have  now  not  seen  for  six  weeks 
past.  The  only  great  news  I  can  offer  you,  is  Lady  Char- 
lotte Rawdon's  extraordinary  marriage  with  a  lieutenant  on 
half-pay,  of  the  name  of  Fitzgerald  ;  and  the  death  of  Sir 
John  Douglas,  which  took  place  on  the  5th  March,  when 
exactly  twelve  months  ago  the  division  took  place  in  Parlia- 
ment upon  his  conduct.  His  burial  was  one  of  the  most 
pompous  ever  seen,  as  if  he  had  been  the  commander-in-chief 
himself,  to  the  disgust  and  contempt  of  every  body  who  saw 
that  show  passing;  he  has  been  buried  at  Charlton,  to  the 
great  annoyance  of  the  Perceval  family  :  and  so  much  about 
nothing. 

"  I  remain,  for  ever, 

"  Your  affectionate  friend, 
(Signed)     »  C.  P." 

I  arrived  at  Worthing,  Tuesday  evening.  The  weather 
was  beautiful,  but  my  mind  was  the  reverse  of  serene;  recol- 
lections of  the  past,  and  fears  for  the  future,  got  the  better  of 
me.  I  dislike  this  place  as  a  locale,  yet  it  was  by  my  own 
choice   I  came  to  it — how  unreasonable  !     Often  when  we 

Vol.  I.  15 


170  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

say  a  thing  is  our  own  choice,  it  is  the  force  of  circumstances 
which  drives  us  to  the  action;  the  will,  in  fact,  is  only  in  our 
miiuls;  it  frequently  fails  in  the  fulfilment,  or  is  pleasing  only 
on  one  side  of  the  question,  while  it  is  abhorrent  on  the  other. 
I  tutored  myself,  however,  to  bear  with  better  grace  what  I 
had  determined  to  undergo,  and  in  the  very  endeavour  to 
conquer  ourselves,  we  lose  some  part  of  that  irritable  humour 
which  mars  our  own  comfort,  as  well  as  that  of  others. 

I  slept  soundly  the  night  of  my  arrival,  and  the  next  day 
the  sun  shone  gaily,  the  sea  looked  grandly  bright,  and  poor 
human  nature  was  exhilarated.  The  power  of  employing 
one's  faculties  is  the  best  gift  of  Heaven :  I  felt  this  power 
return  in  some  small  degree,  and  with  it  the  enjoyment  of 
existence. 

On  Wednesday,  the  8th,  I  read  in  Stafford's  library  the 
wonderful  news  of  the  allies  entering  into  Paris.  The  parti- 
culars of  this  extraordinary  epoch  in  the  world's  history  will 
be  written  every  where  by  every  pen,  but  the  effect  it  pro- 
duces on  the  minds  of  individuals  will  be  varied  as  the  varied 
passions,  habits,  and  tempers  of  those  individuals  ;  on  mine 
it  impresses  the  awful  power  of  an  overruling  Providence, 
who  in  his  own  time  brings  to  bear,  by  apparently  very  sim- 
ple means,  the  most  unexpected  and  incomprehensible  events. 
In  about  six  months'  time,  the  whole  affairs  of  Europe  have 
been  changed  :  the  storms  of  revolution  are  drawing  near  a 
close,  and  they  have  borne  away,  in  their  devastating  course, 
many  of  the  errors  and  crimes  of  former  times,  it  is  to  be 
hoped ;  and  we  may  with  humility  conclude,  this  moral 
tempest  has  been  designed  to  purify  and  to  ameliorate  man- 
kind. All  is  not  yet  completed ;  but  the  hand  of  Heaven  is 
peculiarly  visible  in  this  great  event.  The  Disposer  of  all 
things  will  bring  them  to  the  best  issue  in  his  own  good 
time. 

Sunday,  April  10th,  1814. — The  incidents  which  take 
place  every  hour  are  miraculous.  Bonaparte  is  deposed,  but 
alive  ; — subdued,  but  allowed  to  choose  his  place  of  residence. 
The  island  of  Elba  is  the  spot  he  has  selected  for  his  igno- 
minious retreat.  '  France  is  holding  forth  repentant  arms  to 
her  banished  sovereign. — The  Poissardes  who  dragged  Louis 
the  Sixteenth  to  the  scaffold  are  presenting  flowers  to  the 
Emperor  of  Russia,  the  restorer  of  their  legitimate  king ! 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  171 

What  a  stupendous  field  for  philosophy  to  expatiate  in! 
What  an  endless  material  for  thought!  What  humiliation  to 
the  pride  of  mere  human  greatness  !  How  are  the  mighty 
fallen!  Of  all  that  was  great  in  Napoleon,  what  remains? 
Despoiled  of  his  usurped  power,  he  sinks  to  insignificance. 
There  was  no  moral  greatness  in  the  man. — The  meteor 
dazzled,  scorched,  is  put  out, — utterly  and  for  ever.  But  the 
power  which  rests  in  those  who  have  delivered  the  nations 
from  bondage,  is  a  power  that  is  delegated  to  them  from 
Heaven  ;  and  the  manner  in  which  they  have  used  it  is  a 
guarantee  for  its  continuance.  The  Duke  of  Wellington  has 
gained  laurels  unstained  by  any  useless  flow  of  blood.  He 
has  done  more  than  conquer  others — he  has  conquered  him- 
self; and  in  the  midst  of  the  blaze  and  flush  of  victory,  sur- 
rounded' by  the  homage  of  nations,  he  has  not  been  betrayed 
into  the  commission  of  any  act  of  cruelty,  or  wanton  offence. 
He  was  as  cool  and  self-possessed  under  the  blaze  and  dazzle 
of  fame,  as  a  common  man  would  be  under  the  shade  of  his 
garden-tree,  or  by  the  hearth  of  his  home.  But  the  tyrant 
who  kept  Europe  in  awe,  is  now  a  pitiable  object  for  scorn 
to  point  the  finger  of  derision  at ;  and  humanity  shudders  as 
it  remembers  the  scourge  with  which  this  man's  ambition 
was  permitted  to  devastate  every  home  tie,  and  every  heart- 
felt joy 

No,  I  cannot  recover  from  my  astonishment  at  the  miracu- 
lous winding  up  of  this  complicated  piece  of  mechanism. 
Still  the  downfall  of  the  colossal  mischief  who  stalked  this 
earth  in  dreadful  wrath  is  appalling.  There  is  a  feeling  of 
regret,  unaccountable  perhaps,  but  not  unnatural,  that  Napo- 
leon did  not  finish  his  career  in  some  way  more  analogous 
to  his  course. — He  ought  to  have  died  in  a  manner  more 
consonant,  as  it  were,  with  himself. 

How  strikingly  do  these  late  events  teach  us,  that  what  is 
merely  dependent  on  the  tricks  of  fortune,  and  the  tide  of 
popular  feeling,  is  ephemeral  and  valueless.  The  same  mob 
— the  same  people — now  call  aloud  for  one  of  that  race, 
whom  twenty  years  ago  they  led  to  the  scaffold. 

Saturday,  May  21sl,  1814. — Nearly  seven  weeks  have 
elapsed  since  I  came  to  this  place.  The  intoxication  of  the 
mind  which  naturally  takes  place  after  any  great  event,  sub- 
sides of  course,  and  there  succeeds  a  sort  of  deadness  which 
is  the  consequence  of  excitement.     Then  comes  the  sober 


172  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

appreciation  of  the  intrinsic  value  of  events.    The  restoration 
of  the  Capets  to  the  throne  of  their  ancestors  is  connected 
with  every  sentiment  of  moral  justice  ;  and  the  downfall  of 
that   wonderful   man,  Bonaparte,   is  also  agreeable  to  every 
principle  of  liberty  and  humanity.     But,  that  immediate  tran- 
quillity will  ensue,  appears   to  me   unlikely.     How  can   the 
old  nobility  see  all  their  honours  tarnished   by  the  admission 
of  the   new  to  share  with  them   the   rights   and   privileges  of 
their  order?    How  can  they  behold  their  fortunes  and  esta.tes 
for  ever  alienated  from  themselves  and  their  families,  and  not 
feel  that  indignation,  which  they  would  be  more  or  less  than 
human  not  to  feel?     Must  not  this  produce  perpetual  dis- 
cord ?     The  king,  too ;  can  he  place  confidence  in  the  men 
who  so  lately  served  Bonaparte,  and  assisted  him  to  mount 
that  throne  from  which  they  afterwards  expelled  him  ?     No, 
it  is  impossible;  and  they  in  their  turn,  from  feeling  that  it 
is  so,  will  hate  the  puppet  of  their  own  creation,  and  retain 
him  in  leading-strings,  or  again  hurl  him  from  his  exaltation. 
To  forgive  and  forget  every  thing  are  the  fine  foolish  words 
put  into  Louis  the  Eighteenth's  mouth  ;  but  who  can  forget 
the  murder  of  a  brother ;  the  dethronement  of  a  king ;  the 
subversion  of  empires,  and  the  shedding  of  the  blood  of  mil- 
lions ?     For  all   these  crimes    Bonaparte  is   pensioned ;    his 
son  is  presented  with  the  dutchies  of  Parma,  Placentia,  and 
Guastalla ;  his  brother  is  made  King  of  Naples  ;  and  he  him- 
self a  kind  of  sovereign  in  an  island  which  may  become  a 
maritime  power  ;  and  all  this  is  done  by  the  senate  who  are 
to  support  the  throne  of  Louis.     'Tis  an  attempt  at  amalga- 
mating the  most  discordant  elements.     There   will  yet  be, 
I  fear,  more  tumults  and  wars.     I  thought  with  great  interest 
of  the  poor  royal  fugitives  at  Hartwell,  when  they  first  heard 
the    confirmation    of  their   hopes  : — perhaps    that  first   mo- 
ment was  the  happiest  they  will  ever  enjoy  ;  for  surely  their 
return   to  their  native" country  must  have  been  replete  with 
mournful,  horrible  recollections.    Besides  the  cares  and  mise- 
ries which  are  ever  attendant  on  exalted  stations,  theirs  must 
be  peculiarly  exposed  to  dangers  and  difficulties. — 

"  Uneasy  lies  the  head  that  wears  a  crown." 

The  Emperor  of  Austria,  King  of  Prussia,  and  Emperor  of 
Russia,  are  expected  in  this  country.  Great  preparations  are 
making  for  them.  It  is  now  said  the  first  does  not  intend  to 
come  : — I  think  he  cannot  like  to  show  his  Janus  face.    The 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  173 

Emperor  of  Russia  is  my  hero,  and  everybody's  hero.  I 
once  saw  his  picture : — if  he  is  in  reality  as  handsome  as 
that  represented  him  to  be,  his  personal  aspect  corresponds 
with  his  late  calm  and  magnificent  conduct. 

It  is  shameful  how  our  Regent  is  kicking  the  dust  in  the 
poor  Princess  of  "Wales's  face.  There  are  moments  when 
her  wrongs  make  all  her  errors  forgotten.  There  is  that  little 
vile  Prince  of  Wirtemburg,  her  own  nephew,  who  has  never 
been  to  see  her.  White's  club  is  to  give  a  great  ball  and  fete  ; 
and  they  have  given  tickets  to  the  Regent,  that  he  may  invite 
the  royal  family,  and  this  on  purpose  to  avoid  asking  the 
Princess.     Was  there  ever  anything  so  shameful  ? 

The  Duchess  of  Oldenburgh  is  spoken  of  as  a  very  clever 
woman  ;  and  I  am  inclined  to  believe  the  truth  of  the  report, 
by  the  observation  she  seems  to  take,  not  only  of  our  places 
of  entertainment,  but  of  everything  best. worth  seeing  in  this 
country.  I  understand  she  is  a  great  favourite  of  Princess 
Charlotte,  and  gives  her  (as  it  is  supposed)  excellent  advice 
about  her  conduct.  I,  however,  know  what  a  ticklish  thing 
it  is  to  advise  princes  or  princesses  ;  and  besides,  from  my 
own  observation  in  general  on  human  nature,  I  am  more  in- 
clined to  believe  in  Princess  Charlotte's  acting  according  to 
her  own  wishes  and  impulses,  than  according  to  the  advice  of 
anyone.  When  these  tally,  then  it  is  called  following  advice  ; 
and  the  foolish  advisers  fancy  'tis  they  who  do  it  all,  just  as 
the  Prince  Regent  believes  that  he  has  reinstated  Louis  the 
Eighteenth,  and  that  Europe  is  at  his  command,  because  one 
or  two  of  its  potentates  come  to  look  at  England. 

The  Prince  of  O e,*  it  is  said,  wishes  his  wife  to  go 

with  him  to  his  own  Dutch  land,  and  so  does  the  Prince 
Regent,  who  does  not  like  a  rising  sun  in  his  own  :  but  re- 
port also  whispers  that  the  rising  sun  is  aware  of  this,  and 
will  not  consent  to  the  marriage,  unless  she  is  allowed  to 
shine  in  her  own  dominions.     1  believe  there  is  more  of  the 


*  The  same  Prince  of  O e  again  visited  this  country  in  1836.     He 

is  a  man  of  high  and  excellent  character  :  his  manners  pleasing,  dignified, 
and  perfectly  unaffected.  It  is  impossible  not  to  look  back  with  some- 
thing of  regrel  that  he  was  not  the  chosen  consort  of  Frincess  Char- 
lotte.— It  is  curious  that  the  purport  of  his  second  visit  should  be,  it  is 
supposed,  of  a  similar  nature  to  his  former  one,  namely,  that  of  an  alli- 
ance between  his  family,  with  the  presumptive  heiress  to  the  crown   of 

England  :  ami  it  is  also  said,  that  the  Prince  of  O e's  sons  were,  like 

their  father,  disapproved  of  by  the  princess. 

15* 


174 


MEMOIRS    OF    THE 


woman  in  her  than  of  the  queen,  and  that  she  wants  to  get  a 
look  at  another  prince  or  two  before  she  makes  her  choice  of 
a  husband. — Perhaps,  also,  she  has  still  a  third  point  in  view, 
and  that  is,  to  play  off  and  on,  marry  no  one,  and  love  whom 
she  may  fancy,  noble  or  common.  We  may  live  to  see 
strange  things;  yet,  if  I  am  not  mistaken 

I  heard  to-day  from  Miss  B— ,  that  the  Princess  of  Wales 

had  been  very  well  received,  and  much  applauded,  at  the 
annual  meeting  of  the  National  Education  School;  and  Mr. 
Whitbread  made  her  a  very  proper  compliment  in  his  speech. 
The  Princess  sat  by  the  Dukes  of  Sussex  and  Kent,  the  first 

chairmen   of  the   meetings,     Miss   B says,  the  Grand 

Duchess  is  charming  in  her  manner,  and  has  an  intelligence 
in  her  conversation  quite  new  in  the  princess  line.  She 
dined  at  Devonshire  House  last  Thursday,  where  she  held 
an  awful  circle  after  dinner  : — all  the  gentlemen,  I  hear,  looked 
beautiful  in  their  dress  clothes. 

This  evening  I  received  this  note  from  the  Princess  of 
Wales  : — "  I  have  not  seen  Princess  Charlotte  for  nearly  five 
months  :  she  js  outrageous  at  the  thoughts  of  leaving  this 
country  ;  and  her  unnatural  father  assured  her  that  she  never 
should  have  an  establishment  in  this  country. — I  expect  Mr. 
Whitbread  every  moment,  about  this  interesting  subject;  it 
will  make  a  great  rumpus  in  the  houses  both  of  Lords  and 
Commons,  which  I  trust  will  accelerate  his  departure  to  the 
skies. — Believe  me  for  forever,  dead  or  alive,  your  most 
sincere  C.  P.*' 

Received  a  letter  from  Lady also,  telling  me  that  the 

Princess  talks  of  coming  to  Worthing.  I  am  very  sorry  to 
hear  this,  for  though  I  do  not  dislike  her  Royal  Highness's 
society, — on  (lie  contrary,  no  one  can  be  more  agreeable  or 
amusing  than  she  sometimes  is, — still  I  should  greatly  have 
preferred  being  here  alone  for  a  short  time,  and,  when  the 
Princess  comes,  I  cannot  count  on  an  hour  of  uninterrupted 
quiet.  It  is  droll  her  Royal  Highness  should  have  said  no- 
thing of  her  intention  of  coming  here,  in  her  note  to  me.  I 
suppose  she  wishes  to  suiprise  me  by  her  Royal  presence. 
I  hope  still,  however,  she  may  give  up  this  plan,  knowing  as 
T  do  how  many  such  she  amuses  herself  by  making  one  day, 
and  changing  another.  I  dread  hearing  the  same  complaints 
repeated  over  and  over  again,  and,  as  I  cannot  be  of  any  use 
to  her  Royal  Highness,  I  should  rather  not  be  thrown  again 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  175 

into  her  society  as  much  as  I  was  during  last  year  and   this 

winter.     Lady sent  me  the   following  letter  from  Mr. 

Gell,  addressed  to  her,  to  read,  thinking  it  would  amuse  me, 
which  it  has  very  much. 

"  My  dear  Lady    Aurora, — At  length   a  letter  is   arrived 

from  K Craven,  announcing  the   safe  receipt  of  a  letter 

from  me,  with  an  enclosure  which  I  presume  to  be  the  secret 
communication  of  your  excellency.  Letters  were  certainly 
stopped  somewhere,  and  I  suppose  read  by  Lord  Castlereagh 
and  Co.,  till  within  a  few  days;  so,  if  yours  contained  trea- 
son, you  had  better  take  leave  before  he  returns  to  England. 
Mrs.  Thompson1'  has  quite  recovered  her  spirits,  laughs,  and 
is  merry.  I  dined  there  yesterday  with  Professor  Playfair, 
surnamed  Des  Dames,  (like  one  of  the  guides  whom  you  will 
shortly' know  at  Chamouni,)  Sir  Sidney  Smith,  Frederick 
Douglas,  and  Keith  Stuart,  all  of  whom  were  very  merry, 
not  to  mention  Miss  Berry,  and  the  dinner  went  off  with 
unbounded  applause,  excepting,  that  we  sat  at  it  till  past 
eleven. — They  afterwards  went  a  junketing  to  Lady  Hard- 
wicke's,  where  I  again  beheld  Play-fair  des  dames,  seated  be- 
tween Lady  Catherine  this,  and  the  Countess  of  that,  on  a 
sofa,  to  the  great  scandal  of  the  discipline  of  the  university 
of  Edinburgh.  Sidney  Smith  having  been  long  condemned 
to  piety,  and  matters  of  fact,  in  Yorkshire,  is  now  broke  out 
quite  varyingly  merry  in  London.  Ward  is  in  Paris,  looking 
wretched,  unhappy,  and  angry.— This  we  hear  from  all 
quarters.  The  Stael  is  safely  lodged  there,  and  is  to  give 
parties  immediately  to  all  the  great  characters, — the  Emperor 
of  Russia,  L'lnlini,  the  King  of  Prussia,  L'Impossible,  and 
in  short  the  heroes  of  all  ages  and  principles,  with  the  inten- 
tion of  extracting  from  the  mass,  the  real  quintessence  and 
vital  principle  of  virtue,  in  a  hydrogen  state,  which  she 
means  to  have  ready  in  bottles  for  exportation.  N.B.  None 
are  genuine  but  those  sealed  with  her  own  arms,  viz.  gtdes,  two 
arms  a  kimbo,  surmounted  by  aSaracen's  head,  sable,  crowned 
with  a  French  pyx  ;  crest,  a  cock  and  bull ;  badge,  a  cat  and 
bladders.  These  have  all  been  conferred  by  Louis  XVIII.  dur- 
ing his  last  visit  to  London.     By  the  by,  I  saw  or  rather  wit- 

*  Mrs.  Thompson. — This  is  supposed  to  have  been  a  name  used  to 
designate  tin?  Princess  of  Wales,  by  some  persons  corresponding  with 
one  another  at  that  time,  who  wished  to  avoid  the  risk  of  their  observa- 
tions being  known  to  allude  to  her  Royal  Highness,  Mr.  Thompson,  of 
course,  meant  the  Prince  Regent. 


176  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

nessed  last  night,  that  Mrs.  Mansell,  who  certainly  will 
knock  out  the  Stael's  teetli  some  day  or  other,  and  then  she 
will  make  a  pretty  woman.  As  to  Lady  G.  Bathurst,  she  is 
really  a  chest  of  drawers,  with  the   upper  drawer  pulled  out 

so  far  that  Miss  A and  I   watched  a  whole  night  to  see 

what  would  be  the  effect  in  dancing,  but  nothing  happened, 
though  she  really  became  a  cat  and  bladders.  There  is  your 
Prince  Paul  of  Wirtemberg,  a  squinting  bird,  dancing,  and 
scolding  the  ladies,  and  already  out  of  favour;  nephew  to 
Mrs.  Thompson,  but  has  not  been  to  her.  Alexander  says 
he  will  see  her.*     Lord  Beresford  is  come  home,  and  was  at 

the  Hardwickes',  so  1  introduced  the  Lord  B to  flirt  with 

him.     I  kiss  Mrs.  D 's  hands,  and  your  eyes,  and  if  you 

cannot  read  this,  it  is  because  it   is  written   on   my  knee  at 

breakfast.  Is  Mrs.  D very  angry  at  me  for  being  knighted  ? 

'  Rise  up,  Queen  of  Sheba.'     Adieu,  Adieu. 

Most  sincerely  and  affectionately  yours, 

ANACHARSIS. 

Monday,  May  31st,  1814. — After  many  different  changes, 
the  Princess  came  here  on  the  26th.  It  was  twelve  at  night 
before  she  arrived.  The  inhabitants  of  this  town  had  been 
waiting  to  drag  her  carriage,  and  they  had  illuminated,  &c, 
according  to  their  abilities,  to  welcome  her  Royal  Highness 
to  Worthing,  but  at  last  the  lights  had  gone  out,  and  the 
people  gone  to  sleep,  and  I  was  not  well,  and  fain  would 
have  been  asleep  also,  but  I  did  not  like  to  seem  inattentive, 
and  not  to  be  there  to  offer  my  services  to  the  Princess  ; — 
and  when  at  last  my  patience  was  exhausted,  and  I  was  going 
to  bed — she  arrived,  all  graciousness,  and  looking  very  well. 
The  first  thing  she  did,  after  a  kind  greeting,  was  to  give  me 
a  detail  of  the  late  event  of  the  Queen's  having  written  to  her, 
by  desire  of  the  Regent,  to  forbid  her  going  to  court.  She 
then  related  what  had  been  her  answer,  namely,  a  determinu- 

*  Alexander  the  Emperor  did  not  see  Mrs.  Thompson,  alias  Princess 
of  Wales,  for  though  he  had  all  the  inclination  in  the  world  to  pay  his 
respects  to  her  Royal  Highness,  his  Imperial  Majesty  was  not  allowed  to 
do  so,  as  the  Regent  sent  one  of  his  ministers,  either  Lord  Liverpool,  or 
Lord  Castlereagh,  to  implore  the  emperor  not  to  visit  the  Princess  of 
Wales.  He  was  actually  stepping  into  his  carriage  to  go  toConnaught 
House,  when  his  purpose  was  frustrated  by  an  act  as  despotic  as  any 
which  his  Imperial  Majesty  could  ever  have  exercised  in  his  own 
kingdom. 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  177 

lion  to  go  ;  but  Whitbreatl,  without  even  reading  her  letter, 
insisted  upon  it,  sbe  was  not  to  go  ;  and,  in  tbe  most  per- 
emptory manner,  almost  ordered  the  Princess  to  copy  a 
letter  he  had  written  to  tbe  Queen,  which  was  a  submissive 
acquiescence  respecting  the  two  drawing-rooms  immediately 
in  question.  No  sooner  had  the  poor  Princess  agreed,  than 
Mr.  Brougham  arrived,  and  told  Mr.  Whitbread  he  had  com- 
pletely misunderstood  him,  for  that  it  was  his  decided  opi- 
nion, that  her  Royal  Highness  should  not  have  given  up  her 
right,  but  should  go  to  court  in  spite  of  the  Regent  and  his 
whiskers.  Mr.  Whitbread  was  thrown  into  a  state  of  great 
agitation  at  finding  he  had  by  his  obstinacy  led  the  Princess 
into  error  ;  and  now  the  two  wise  men  laid  their  heads  to- 
gether to  know  what  could  be  done  to  set  matters  to-rights, 
and  remedy  their  own  blunders.  They  thought  the  Princess 
should  write  a  letter  to  the  Prince  in  another  tone,  setting 
forth  rights,  and  threatening  complaints,  which  letter  they 
had  been  the  whole  of  Thursday  brewing  in  the  Princess's 
room. 

I  fear  they  will  only  make  bad  worse.  The  whole  account 
of  this  transaction  is  to  appear  in  to-day's  papers.  The  poor 
Princess  was  (as  usual  in  the  midst  of  any  bustle)  vastly 
happy,  and  full  of  hope  at  the  mighty  things  which  were  to 
accrue  to  her  from  all  these  court  contrivances.  This  subject 
afforded  matter  for  conversation  till  past  two  in  the  morning. 
The  next  day  the  Princess  was  up  and  flying  about  at  an 
early  hour:  she  sent  for  me  immediately  after  breakfast,  and 
walked  all  over  the  town,  and  up  and  down  the  beaeh,  until 
I  thought  I  should  have  died  of  the  fatigue  of  following  her 
Royal  Highness;  and  most  of  the  time  she  took  my  arm  and 

leant  heavily  on  it.     Lady was  not  well,  so  I  was  kept 

in  attendance  the  whole  day. 

At  three  o'clock  she  went  out  for  an  airing :  she  drove  by 
Goring  and  Snmpting;  and  being  easily  pleased  when  in 
good  humour,  talked  the  whole  time  of  the  "great  event,'1'' 
as  she  called  it.  Her  Royal  Highness  descanted  upon  her 
intention  of  going  abroad  as  soon  as  possible,  saying,  she 
thought  she  was  more  likely  to  be  able  to  escape  now  than 
she  had  ever  been  ;  for  that  she  hoped,  and  had  reason  to  be- 
lieve, the  Emperor  of  Russia  would  be  friendly  towards  her: 
— that  she  meant  to  ask  his  Imperial  Majesty  to  bear  her 
request  to  the  Prince  that  she  might  leave  this  country. — "  I 
will  tell  you,  my  dear ,  what  I  expect  he  is  to  answer 


178  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

to  that. — We  are  parted  from  incompatibilite  tl'humeur — that 
I  am  to  have  fifty  thousand  a-year,  and  may  go  and  come  as 
I  choose."  Poor  wrong-headed  Princess!  I  said,  "Yes, 
Yes,"  to  every  thing,  of  course,  and  bowed  acquiescence. — 

But  how  little  can  I  believe  that  the  R 1  will  give  such  a 

reply,  still  less  that  the  Emperor  will  interfere  in  this  business  ? 
The  Prince  hates  his  wife  with  inveterate  malice; — if  she 
goes  out  of  the  kingdom,  it  will  be  only  on  one  condition, — 
that  she  should  never  return  ;  and  if  she  does  go  out  of  the 
kingdom,  she  will  inevitably  be  ruined. 

In  her  peculiar  circumstances,  as  well  as  station,  she  should 
never  withdraw  herself  from  the  eye  of  the  nation;  and 
though,  as  it  has  been  from  the  beginning  of  time,  all  poten- 
tates and  public  characters  are  desirous  of  sometimes  laying 
aside  their  robes  of  state,  and  tasting  freedom  like  other  men, 
they  have  seldom  or  ever  done  so  without  losing  their  own 
station,  and  have  not  obtained  that  enjoyment  which  they 
sought. — The  sentinel  must  not  leave  his  post.  In  the  Prin- 
cess's particular  situation,  she  is  more  imperiously  called 
upon  than  any  other  Princess  ever  was,  not  to  absent  herself 
from  England.  The  English,  even  in  these  days,  are  unrea- 
sonably prejudiced  against  foreigners,  and  the  idea  that  she 
has  resided  amongst  them  for  any  length  of  time  will  be  suf- 
ficient to  raise  a  feeling  of  distrust  against  her  Royal  High- 
ness; and  more  especially  amongst  the  lower  and  middling 
classes. 

Besides,  absence  is  such  a  fearful  test  of  human  attach- 
ment, that  it  is  very  dangerous  to  venture  it.  It  is  human 
nature  to  love  those  most  whom  we  dwell  most  with,  and  who 
contribute  most  to  our  welfare  and  amusement.  The  person, 
whether  a  private  individual  or  a  public  character,  who  volun- 
tarily forsakes  those  over  whom  he  ought  to  preside,  has 
no  right  to  expect  the  continuation  of  their  love  or  loyalty. 

Had  the  Princess  the  ideas  of  a  private  individual;  had 
she  a  taste  for  literature,  or  even  for  female  employments,  I 
could  understand  her  wish  to  leave  this  country,  and  lead  a 
private  life.  I  should  think  her  in  that  case  a  wise  woman, 
and  likely  to  be  a  far  happier  one  than  she  could  be  under 
the  most  favourable  circumstances  of  her  present  station  ;  but, 
constituted  as  her  mind  is,  she  has  only  one  course  to  pursue 
— that  is,  to  remain  in  England,  and  to  endeavour  to  main- 
tain the  eminence  from  which  her  enemies  wish  to  hurl 
her. 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOL'RTH.  179 

The  Princess  told  me,  that  she  thinks  the  Duchess  of  Old- 
enburgh  is  her  friend,  and  that  she  had  sent  her  some  kind 
messages  through  Princess  Charlotte.  The  latter  told  her 
mother,  the  last  time  they  met,  that  she  was  determined  not" 
to  marry  the  Prince  of  Orange  ; — that  "his  being  approved 
of  by  the  royal  family  was  quite  sufficient  to  make  him  dis- 
approved of  by  her ;  for  that  she  would  marry  a  man  who 
would  be  at  her  devotion,  not  at  theirs. — Marry  I  will,"  said 
she  to  the  Princess  of  Wales,  "  and  that  directly,  in  order  to 
enjoy  my  liberty ;  but  not  the  Prince  of  Orange.  I  think 
him  so  ugly,  that  I  am  sometimes  obliged  to  turn  my  head 
away  in  disgust  when  he  is  speaking  to  me." 

"  But,  my  dear,"  replied  her  mother,  (at  least  so  her  Royal 
Highness  told  me,)  "  whoever  you  marry  will  become  a 
king,  and  you  will  give  him  a  power  over  you." 

"  A  King!  Pho,  pho !  Never!  He  will  only  be  my  first 
subject — never  my  king  /"* 

The  Princess  of  Wales  is  delighted  with  this  hopeful  spirit, 
and  believes  in  its  continuance.  So  do  I,  as  to  the  will  of 
the  person:  but  as  to  the  possibility  of  the  power  of  execut- 
ing that  will,  I  foresee  a  thousand  obstacles.  Besides,  Prin- 
cess Charlotte's  inclination  will  vary  with  every  wind  that 
blows;  and  I  should  not  be  surprised  to  hear  that  her  mar- 
riage with  the  Prince  of  Orange  was  to  take  place  to-morrow. 
— There  is  no  believing  one  word  these  royal  people  say;  and 
1  verily  believe  they  do  not  know  what  they  believe  them- 
selves. 

The  Duchess  of  Oldenbnrgh  was  offended,  the  Princess  of 
Wales  says,  at  her  not  having  sent  her  Chamberlain  to  wel- 
come her  to  England,  which  all  the  other  royalties  had  done 
— at  least  so  she  says  now, — and  that  she  (the  Duchess)  only 
awaits  her  brother  the  Emperor  of  Russia's  arrival,  in  order 
to  pay  her  respects  at  Connaught  House.  I  much  doubt  this 
will  end  in  smoke  ;  but  a  short  time  will  show. 

*  It  would,  indeed,  have  been  difficult  to  determine  whether  or  not  the 
Princess  could  have  kept  her  resolution  respecting  the  man  she  chose  to 
marry,  had  her  life  been  granted.  He  was  not  of  a  disposition  to  play 
the  part  of  king-consort,  the  most  difficult  and  degrading  one  in  truth 
that  can  fall  to  the  lot  of  man.  It  is  a  perversion  of  the  natural  rights 
of  the  superior  sex,  and  places  wife  and  husband,  both  respectively  to  each 
other,  and  to  mankind  in  general,  in  a  false  position.  It  would  require 
more  virtue,  and  more  forbearance,  than  falls  to  the  lot  of  human  nature, 
to  render  such  an  alliance  one  of  happiness,  cither  to  the  parties  them* 
selves,  or  those  over  whom  they  reign. 


180  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

It  is  publicly  known  the  R 1  sent  over  Sir  Thomas 

Tyrwhitt  with  a  private  message  to  the  Emperor  of  Russia, 
desiring  him  to  take  no  notice  of  the  Princess  on  his  arrival 
in  England.  Whether  or  not  the  Emperor  is  weak  enough, 
or  politic  enough,  to  choose  to  submit  to  this  dictatorial  order, 
will  soon  be  known. 

The  Princess  drove  about  till  eight  o'clock,  then  returned 
to  a  dinner  soupative,  and  sat  at  it  till  twelve  o'clock.  I  can- 
not understand  what  royalties  are  made  of, — they  are  so 
strong,  and  able  to  bear  so  much  fatigue. 

The  next  day  I  was  again  sent  for,  to  walk  with  her  Royal 

Highness  and  Miss  ,  Lady  being  still  ill.     The 

Princess  was  in  much  lower  spirits  than  the  preceding  even- 
ing:— I  attributed  it  to  her  not  seeing  any  thing  in  her  own 
favour  in  the  newspaper,  but  rather,  on  the  contrary,  against 

her.     Miss told  me  that  Chanticleer  is  either  gone,  or 

going  immediately,  to  France.  I  am  very  glad  to  hear  it,  as 
it  will  put  an  end  to  the  evil  rumours  about  the  Princess 
which  his  constant  presence  at  Connaught  House  excited. 

-,    Thursday,    9th    of  June,    1814. — I    saw    Lady 
Poor  soul !   the  operation  she  has  lately  undergone 


proves  what  strength  of  mind  and  moral  courage  she  is  en- 
dowed with.  All  she  cares  about  is,  that  it  should  not  be 
known  that  she  has  undergone  this  trial !  She  looked  quite 
well,  and  did  not  allude  to  what  had  happened;  neither  did  I, 
for  I  know  she  hates  the  subject. 

As  I  walked  through  the  streets,  they  were  crowded  with 
people  waiting  to  hear  the  proclamation  of  peace,  which  was 
not  however  proclaimed.  I  dined  at  my  aunt's.  B.  C.  told 
us  he  had  been  at  Carlton  House  the  night  before,  where  he 
saw  all  the  potentates  and  generals,  &c,  now  assembled  in 
this  capital.  I  was  very  glad  he  had  been  invited,  for  nobody 
likes  to  be  left  out  and  forgotten  by  those  who  used  to  receive 
them  well,  and  1  feared  his  having  lived  in  intimacy  with  the 
Princess  of  Wales  might  have  occasioned  his  disgrace  at  the 
other  court. 

I  hear  that  all  ranks,  except  merely  those  who  bask  in  the 
sunshine  of  the  Regent's  favour,  have  expressed  themselves 
warmly  for  the  Princess ;  and  that  the  Prince  cannot  move 
out  without  hisses  and  groans.  I  am  glad  to  think  his  bitter- 
ness and  tyranny  are  mortified;  but   what  good   will  it  do 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  181 

her  ?  None,  I  fear. — The  most  that  can  happen,  is  her  hav- 
ing her  establishment  put  on  a  more  liberal  footing  by  the 
nation, — and  then  the  Princess  will  go  abroad,  run  into  all 
sorts  of  foolish  scrapes,  and  be  forgotten  at  best: — worse  will 
it  be  for  her  if  things  are  there  proved,  which  may  be  brought 
back  to  this  country,  and  her  whole  money,  hopes,  and  hap- 
piness, taken  from  her  for  ever.  I  tremble  for  her,  poor 
woman,  for  her  own  sake,  but  see  no  daylight. 

When  I  went  to  Connaught  House  yesterday,  by  appoint- 
ment, I  found  the  Princess  dressed  in  a  style  as  if  she  ex- 
pected some  visitors.  She  said,  that  if  she  did  not  look  for- 
ward to  going  abroad,  she  should  die  of  despair;  and  though 
I  think  her  mistaken  in  the  idea  that  she  will  be  happier  in  a 
foreign  country  than  here,  and  that  she  is  wrong  to  indulge 
in  perpetual  murmuring,  still,  whenever  she  is  in  her  gentle 
melancholy,  and  touches  upon  her  crying  wrongs,  (for  crying 
they  certainly  are,)  I  am  really  moved  with  indignation 
against  the  persecution  offered  to  a  princess  and  a  woman. 
She  read  me  a  letter  she  was  writing  when  I  arrived:  it  was 
a  letter  to  Lord  Liverpool,  demanding  leave  to  quit  this  coun- 
try, and  retire  whither  she  would ;  saying,  that  she  did  not, 
nor  ever  had,  wished  to  render  the  Prince  unpopular,  and 
that  she  begged  permission  to  go  abroad.  The  matter  was 
spirited,  dignified,  and  clever,  but  was  not  clothed  in  English 
language,  nor  free  from  obscurity. 

I  was  much  annoyed  at  her  Royal  Highness  desiring  me 
"  to  do  this  letter  into  English."  I  did  not  like  to  refuse  her 
request,  but  it  has  much  distressed  me,  for  I  shall  have  the 
credit  of  having  composed  the  whole  of  the  letter.  The 
Princess,  after  some  time  spent  in  general  conversation,  con- 
fessed to  me  that  she  had  dressed  herself  in  a  half-dress,  ex- 
pecting the  Emperor  of  Russia,  and  the  King  of  Prussia,  to 
call  on  her.  But  the  moment  I  told  her  I  heard  those  per- 
sonages had  refused  to  go  to  White's,  or  to  any  public  place, 
she  said,  "  Then  the  Prince  has  conquered,  and  they  will 
not  come  to  see  me."  I  saw  she  was  very  much  vexed ;  but 
she  bore  it  with  a  command  of  temper  which  would  have  done 
any  one  honour.  It  seems  she  sent  her  Chamberlain  to  wel- 
come them  to  England.  The  King  of  Prussia  sent  his  Cham- 
berlain to  thank  the  Princess  in  return,  but  the  Emperor  has 
sent  no  one,  nor  taken  the  least  notice  of  her,  except  by  re- 
ceiving Mr.  St.  Leger  graciously. 

It  will  be  a  shame  if  the  King  of  Prussia  does  not  visit  her 
Vol.  I.  16 


182  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

once  at  least,  considering  wliat  obligations  lie  was  under  to 
her  father,  who  died  in  battle,  fighting  in  his  cause : — but 
perhaps  he  has  forgotten  this  circumstance. 

All  goes  gloomily  with  the  poor  Princess. — Lady  Charlotte 
Campbell  told  me,  she  regrets  not  seeing  all  these  curious 
personages;  but,  she  said,  the  more  the  Princess  is  forsaken, 
the  more  happy  she  is  at  having  offered  to  attend  her  at  this 
time.  This  is  very  amiable  in  her,  and  must  be  gratifying  to 
the  Princess. 

Thursday,  9th  of  June. — I  dined  at  Connaught  House. 
There  were  Mr.  Gell,  Mr.  Hobhouse,  Mr.  Bennett,  and  Mr. 
Fox  there.  The  first  was  low-spirited  and  ill,  yet  amusing 
and  kind,  as  he  invariably  is  ;  the  other  men  are  violently 
for  the  Princess,  but  I  fear  'tis  their  politics,  more  than  their 
personal  attachment  to  her,  which  makes  them  so.  I  never 
saw  Mr.  Gell  so  violent  as  he  was  against  the  present  system 
of  bowing  in  all  things  to  the  Regent.  He  said  that  the 
rights  of  the  constitution  were  infringed,  and  that  posting 
guards  at  all  corners  of  the  streets  was  a  species  of  tyranny 
that  amounted  almost  to  a  military  government:  that  it  was 
the  civil  authorities  alone  that  had  any  right  to  keep  order,  if 
such  were  necessary  in  the  town  ;  but  that  the  next  step 
which  might  now  take  place,  was  that  I  might  see  two  senti- 
nels placed  at  my  door,  and  find  that  I  neither  could  go  in  or 
out  of  my  own  house,  if  such  were  his  pleasure,  (meaning 

the  R t's,)  yet  no  one  be  a  bit  the  wiser.     "  Seriously," 

he  said,  "  it  is  coming  fast  to  this  ;  and  I  only  hope  some 
disturbance  may  take  place  to  put  an  end  to  this  nonsense. 
If  other  men's  minds  are  strung  to  the  same  tone,  or  at  all 
like  it,  I  should  think  there  would  be  riots." 

The  Princess  received  an  anonymous  letter  yesterday,  which 
she  put  in  the  fire, — the  fate  all  such  communications  deserve 
to  meet  with,  for  the  writer  of  an  anonymous  letter  would  be 
almost  capable  of  murder.  This  letter  was  to  say,  that  the 
Prince  would  be  killed  shortly,  he  was  such  a  tyrant.  I  do 
not  suppose  the  information  shocked  her  very  much. 

Princess  Charlotte  paid  her  mother  a  visit  last  Saturday, 
and  told  her  that  everything  was  fixed  for  her  marriage  ;  that 
she  did  not  love  the  Prince  of  Orange,  but  that  she  must  be 
married. — So  there  ends  all  the  nonsense  her  Royal  Highness 
talked  and  wrote  the  time  before  she  saw  her  mother.     It 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  183 

only  shows  what  faith  is  to  be  placed  in  her  words — and  in- 
deed there  is  no  coming  at  truth  where  no  truth  is. 

Friday,  10th  of  June. — I  heard  Mr.  Whitbread  called  on 

the  Princess  this  morning ;  and  Lady said,  she  thinks 

he  is  really  interested  in  the  Princess,  and  feels  compassion 
for  her  cruel  situation,  besides  being  urged  by  his  political 
career  to  make  a  tool  of  her  for  his  own  ends.  He  said  to 
Lady ,  he  thought  the  Princess  would  get  an  establish- 
ment, and  liberty  granted  her,  but  nothing  more.  He  knows 
her  intention  of  going  abroad,  and  blames  it  as  a  very  injudi- 
cious plan :  but  he  is  quite  aware  no  one  can  hinder  her 
Royal  Highness  from  following  her  own  inclinations ;  so  he 
has  not  told  her  how  unwise  he  thinks  her  to  leave  England, 
and  he,  as  well  as  all  her  other  friends,  can  only  hope  she 
may  be  prevented  by  circumstances  from  taking  this  step  ;  or 
still  more,  that  the  ivish  to  go  away  may  cease  to  exist.  Mr. 
Whitbread  has  very  pleasing  manners  in  private  :  they  are 
gentle,  almost  to  effeminacy. . 

I  dined  again  at  Connaught  House  :  Miss  Berry,  and  Mr. 
and  Miss  R —  were  there  :  the  two  latter  looked  very  ca- 
pottes.  I  know  they  dislike  the  dulness  which  now  prevails 
at  the  Princess's  dinner-parlies.  The  Princess  had  imagined 
that  she  could  associate  B —  R —  to  her  fortunes,  and  was 
quite  in  astonishment  when  she  found  that  that  was  out  of 
the  question.  What  an  idea,  to  separate  a  mother  and  daugh- 
ter!— and  to  suppose  that  a  very  young  and  beautiful  girl 
would  sacrifice  her  best  days  to  the  service  of  an  unhappy 
Princess.  How  unlikely  to  find  one,  with  similar  advan- 
tages of  mind  and  person  to  those  which  B — R — possesses, 
willing  to  give  them  all  up  to  serve  a  person  who  had  no 
claim  on  her!  How  little  does  the  poor  Princess  know  hu- 
man character,  if  she  thinks  to  find  such  disinterestedness; — 
nothing  for  nothing,  in  this  world,  is  a  sad  truth  ! 

Her  Royal  Highness  has  taken  a  dislike  to  Mrs.  R — ,  be- 
cause she  will  not  permit  her  daughter  to  be  often  alone  with 
the  Princess.  Chanticleer  the  younger  is  gone  to  Paris,  but 
the  old  S — s  are  still  in  London,  and  still  invited  occasion- 
ally ;  but  she  is  disgusted  with  their  rapaciousness.  This  is 
most  fortunate  for  her  sake.  She  has  not  heard  a  word  from 
kings  or  emperors  ; — they  went  to-day  to  Ascot  Races,  and 
are  to  sleep  at  Windsor. 


194  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

Saturday,  1  lth. — I  was  sent  for  by  the  Princess  this  morning 
to  say  that  she  was  going  to  the  Opera  to-night,  and  wished 
me  to  attend  her.  Lady  C.  L.  had  just  left  her  when  I  ar- 
rived, and  the  Princess  complained  that  "  her  friends  tor- 
mented her  as  much  as  her  enemies."  I  found  out  afterwards, 
that  this  remark  was  occasioned  by  one  of  her  friends  having 
advised  her  Royal  Highness  not  to  take  J Villikin  to  the  Opera 
with  her. — The  two  Doctors  Burney  dined  with  the  Princess  ; 

Lady ,  Miss ,  and  myself  were  of  the  party.  There 

came  a  note  from  Mr.  Whilbread,  advising  at  what  hour  she 
should  go  to  the  Opera,  and  telling  her  that  the  Emperor  was 
to  be  at  eleven  o'clock  at  the  Institution,  which  was  to  be 
lighted  up  for  him  to  see  the  pictures.  All  this  advice  tor- 
mented the  Princess,  and  I  do  not  wonder  that  she  sometimes 
loses  patience.  No  child  was  ever  more  thwarted  and  con- 
trolled than  she  is — and  yet  she  often  contrives  to  do  herself 
mischief  in  spite  of  all  the  care  that  is  taken  of  her.  When 
we  arrived  at  the  Opera,  to  the  Princess's,  and  all  her  attend- 
ants' infinite  surprise,  we  saw  the  Regent  placed  between  the 
Emperor  and  the  King  of  Prussia,  and  all  the  minor  Princes, 
in  a  box  to  the  right.  'God  save  the  King'  was  performing 
when  the  Princess  entered,  and  consequently  she  did  not  sit 
down. — I  was  behind  ;  so  of  course  I  could  not  see  the  house 
very  distinctly,  but  I  saw  the  Regent  was  at  that  time  standing 
and  applauding  the  Grassinis. — As  soon  as  the  air  was  over, 
the  whole  pit  turned  round  to  the  Princess's  box  and  ap- 
plauded her. — We,  who  were  in  attendance  on  her  Royal 
Highness,  intieated  her  to  rise  and  make  a  curtsey,  but  she 
sat  immovable,  and  at  last,  turning  round,  she  said  to  Lady 

,  "  My  dear,   Punch's  wife  is  nobody  when  Punch  is 

present." — AVe  all  laughed,  but  still  thought  her  wrong  not 
to  acknowledge  the  compliment  paid  her;  but  she  was  right 
as  the  sequel  will  prove. — "  We  shall  be  hissed,"  said  Sir 
W.  Gell. — "  No,  no,"  again  replied  the  Princess  with  infi- 
nite good  humour,  "  I  know  my  business  better  than  to  take 
the  morsel  out  of  my  husband's  mouth;  I  am  not  to  seem 
to  know  that  the  applause  is  meant  for  me  till  they  call  my 
name."  The  Prince  seemed  to  verify  her  words,  for  he  got 
up  and  bowed  to  the  audience.  This  was  construed  int)  a 
bow  to  the  Princess,  most  unfortunately  ;  I  say  most  unfor- 
tunately, because  she  has  been  blamed  for  not  returning  it  ; 
but  I,  who  was  an  eye-witness  of  the  circumstance,  know  the 
Princess  acted  just  as  she  ought  to  have  done.    The  fact  was, 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  185 

the  Prince  took  the  applause  to  himself;  and  his  friends,  or 
rather  his  toadies,  (for  they  do  not  deserve  the  name  of 
friends,)  to  save  him  from  the  imputation  of  this  ridiculous 
vanity,  chose  to  say,  that  he  did  the  most  beautiful  and  ele- 
gant thing  in  the  world,  and  bowed  to  his  wife  !  ! 

When  the  Opera  was  finished,  the  Prince  and  his  sup- 
porters were  applauded,  but  not  enthusiastically  ;  and  scarcely 
had  his  Royal  Highness  left  the  box,  when  the  people  called 
for  the  Princess,  and  gave  her  a  very  warm  applause.  She 
then  went  forward  and  made  three  curtseys,  and  hastily  with- 
drew.— I  believe  she  acted  perfectly  right  throughout  the 
evening — but  everybody  tells  a  different  story,  and  thinks  dif- 
ferently.— How  trivial  all  this  seems,  how  much  beneath  the 
dignity  of  rational  beings  !  But  trifles  make  up  the  sum  of 
earthly  things — and  in  this  instance  this  trivial  circumstance 
affects  the  Princess  of  Wales's  interests,  therefore  it  becomes 
of  consequence  for  the  true  statement  to  be  made  known  ;  and 
as  I  was  present,  I  can  and  will  tell  the  truth. — When  the 
coachman  attempted  to  drive  home  through  Charles-street, 
the  crowd  of  carriages  was  so  immense  it  was  impossible  to 
pass  down  that  street,  and  with  difficulty  the  Princess's 
carriage  backed,  and  we  returned  past  Carlton-house,  where 
the  mob  surrounded  her  carriage,  and,  having  once  found  out 
that  it  was  her  Royal  Highness,  they  applauded  and  huzzaed 

her   Royal   Highness   till   she,  and   Lady ,  and   myself, 

who  were  with  her,  were  completely  stunned. — The  mob 
opened  the  carriage  doors,  and  some  of  them  insisted  upon 
shaking  hands  with  her,  and  asked  if  they  should  burn 
Carlton-house. — "  No,  my  good  people,"  she  said,  "  be  quite 
quiet — let  me  pass,  and  go  home  to  your  beds." — They 
would  not,  however,  leave  off  following  her  carriage  for  some 
way,  and  cried  out,  Long  live  the  Princess  of  Wales,  long 
live  the  innocent,  &c.  &c. — She  was  pleased  at  this  demon- 
stration of  feeling  in  her  favour,  and  I  never  saw  her  look  so 
well,  or  behave  with  so  much  dignity.  Yet  I  hear  since,  all 
this  has  been  misconstrued,  and  various  lies  told. 

Sunday,  12th. — The  park  (Hyde  Park)  was  crowded  with 
multitudes  of  spectators,  and  all  the  Kings,  Emperors,  and 
grandees,  foreign  and  English,  rode  and  drove  about,  while 
the  people  flocked  around  them,  applauding  and  huzzaing. 
Princess  Charlotte  drove  round  the  ring  in  her  carriage,  and 
looked  well  and  handsome — what  a  strange  and  galling  sight 

16 ! 


186  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

for  the  Princess  of  Wales,  her  who  ought  to  be,  from  her 
rank,  her  relationship  to  some  of  these  foreign  potentates,  ami 
her  station  in  this  country,  the  first  to  be  honoured  by  their 
attentions,  thus  to  see  herself  so  completely  cast  aside  ! 
Whilst  they  were  in  the  gay  throng  in  Hyde  Park,  she  drove 

with   Lady to  Hampstead  and   Highgate.     Lady 

told  me  she  was  very  tired  of  that  amusement. 

I  dined  at  Connaught  House — the  party  consisted  of  Mr. 
and  Lady  Charlotte  Greville,  Lord  Henry  Fitzgerald,  Mr. 
Bennet,  and  Mr.  Hobhouse.  After  dinner  a  few  more  per- 
sons came,  and  formed  a  dull  stiff  circle,  but  it  was  good 
company;  therefore  I  was  pleased  to  see  there  the  Hard- 
wiekes,  Paulets,  Lord  and  Lady  Grey,  Lord  and  Lady  Dun- 
more,  Lord  Nugent,  &c,  to  the  amount  of  fifty  or  sixty 
persons. — Many  more  really  intended  to  come,  after  having 
been  to  Lady  Salisbury's,  where  were  the  Emperor  and  King, 
and  our  mighty  Prince  R — t ;  but  the  crowd  was  so  immense, 
they  could  not  get  their  carriages  till  morning. 

Monday,  13th. — The  Princess  sent  forme  this  morning; 
I  found  her  looking  big  with  some  news,  but  she  waited  till 
she  mastered  herself  before  she  told  me  she  had  got  a  letter 
from  Lady  C.  L — y,  telling  her  that  she  had  heard  positively 
from  Lady  Westmoreland,  who  had  the  intelligence  from  a 
quarter  that  left  no  doubt  of  its  truth,  that  the  Emperor  would 
wait  upon  the  Princess  either  that  day  or  on  Thursday 
next; — that  she,  Lady  C.  L — y,  felt  certain  of  its  authenti- 
city, and  therefore  took  the  liberty  of  communicating  the  in- 
tention of  his  Majesty  to  her  Royal  Highness.  The  latter 
was  delighted.  She  gradually  gave  way  to  the  hope  which 
charmed  her,  and  said — poor  soul — "  my  ears  are  very  ugly, 
but  1  would  give  them  both  to  persuade  the  Emperor  to  come 
to  me  to  a  ball,  a  supper, 'any  entertainment  that  he  would 
choose."  Well,  she  dressed,  and  waited  till  seven,  but  no 
Emperor  came  ;  sheynade  me  remain  with  her  all  the  after- 
noon. I  did  my  best  to  amuse  her,  but  I  am  not  an  amusing 
person  at  any  time,  certainly  not— ^neither,  when  I  feel  sad 
and  sorry,  which  I  did  for  her  Royal  Highness,  can  I  exert 
the  little  powers  I  have  of  being  diverting. — For  four  hours 
together — it  was  an  effort  to  me  to  try  to  seem  cheerful,  when 
I  was  thinking  the  whole  time,  of  whether  the  Emperor 
would  or  would  not  come,  and  whether  the  poor  soul  who 
sat  opposite  to  me  would  be  disappointed  or  not  of  the  pro- 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  187 

mised  pleasure. — Neither  was  it  possible  the  Princess  should 
be  amused  or  interested  with  what  I  or  any  one  else  could 
have  said,  when  she  was  waiting  for  his  visit;  yet  she  endea- 
voured to  converse,  and  to  conceal  her  anxiety.  Alas!  I  fear 
Thursday  will  be  just  such'  another  day  of  disappointment  as 
to-day  was.  How  cruel  to  give  her  a  hope  that  anything 
pleasant  will  befal  her,  which  people  are  not  quite  sure  will 
take  place. — Yet  the  persons  who  gave  her  this  false  hope, 
did  not  do  so  with  an  unkind  intention. — It  was  her  friend 
who  sent  her  the  announcement  of  the  Emperor's  intended 
visit. — No  wonder  the  Princess  says,  "  my  friends  torment 
me  as  much  as  my  enemies."  She  is  not  the  only  person 
who  has  said  and  felf  thus. — I  was  made  to  stay  and  dine, 
and  in  the  evening  there  were  the  old  S — s  pour  tout  bien. 

Tuesday,  14th. — Lady told  me,  that  in  going  slowly 

up  a  hill  in  the  course  of  her  drives  to-day,  a  decently  dress- 
ed and  respectable  looking  countryman  came  close  to  the 
Princess's  carriage,  and  said,  "  God  bless  you,  we  will  make 
the  Prince  love  you  before  we  have  done  with  him."  Ano- 
ther of  the  same  class  of  persons  cried  out  as  she  passed, 
"  You  will  soon  overcome  all  your  enemies." — Such  volun- 
tary declarations  prove  that  there  is  a  strong  feeling  prevailing 
in  her  favour;  still,  it  is  not  a  few  kind  words  uttered  by  a 
chance  person  as  she  passes  ill  her  carriage,  that  can  be  of 
real  use  or  comfort  to  her,  though  gratifying  at  the  moment. 

Wednesday,    15th. — The   Princess,    Lady  informed 

me,  received  a  note  this  morning  from  Mr.  Brandon,  box- 
office,  Covent  Garden,  telling  her  that  no  box  could  be  kept 
for  her  Royal  Highness  at  that  theatre,  as  they  were  all  en- 
gaged. What  an  answer  to  the  Princess  of  Wales  ! — Then 
arrived  a  note  from  Alderman  Wood,  informing  her,  that  if 
she  chose  to  go  to  see  the  monarchs  pass  in  procession  to  the 
City,  he  would  have  a  private  house  kept  for  her  Royal 
Highness  for  that  purpose. — Alderman  Wood  did  not  mean 
to  insult  her,  it  was  only  his  vulgarity  that  induced  him  to 
make  her  such  a  ludicrous  offer. — Hut  what  was  most  vexa- 
tious of  all  these  vexatious  communications  was,  that  the 
Duchess  of  Oldenburgh  and  four  other  ladies  were  to  be  pre- 
sent at  the  dinner;  this  was  galling,  and  the  Princess  felt 
her  own  particular  exclusion  from  this  fete  given  by  the  city 
very  hard  to  bear,  as  she  had  considered  the  city  folks  her 


188  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

friends.  They,  however,  are  not  to  blame,  as  these  royal 
ladies  are  self-invited,  or  invited  by  the  Regent,  and  the 
Princess's  friends  had  not  time  to  call  a  Common  Council 
and  discuss  the  matter. — Immediately  after  this  bitter  pill 
came  another  from  Mr.  Whitbread,  recommending  her  upon 
no  account  to  go  to  Drury-lane  on  Thursday  evening,  after 
having  a  few  days  before  desired  her  to  go.     "  You  see,  my 

dear,"   she  said  to  Lady ,  "  how  I   am  plagued;"  and 

although  she  mastered  her  iesentment.  Lady says  she 

saw  the  tears  were  in  her  eyes.  "  It  is  not  the  loss  of  the 
amusement  which  I  regret,  but  being  treated  like  a  child,  and 
made  the  puppet  of  a  party:  what  signify  whether  I  come  in 
before  or  after  the  Regent,  or  whether  I  am  applauded  in  his 
hearing  or  not — that  is  all  for  the  gratification  of  the  party, 
not  for  my  gratification;  'tis  of  no  consequence  to  the  Prin- 
cess, but  to  Mr.  Whitbread — and  that's  the  way  things  always 
go,  and  always  will,  till  I  can  leave  this  vile   country." — 

Lady was  desired  by  her  Royal  Highness  to  write  her 

sentiments,  with  leave  to  alter  the  mode  of  expressing  them, 
to  Mr.  Whitbread  and  Alderman  Wood. 

I  dined  at  Connaught  House  the  same  day,  and  the  Princess 
was  in  wonderfully  good  spirits  considering  how  much  she 
had  been  vexed  in  the  morning. — Sir  W.  and  Lady  Louisa 
Call,  Lady  Elizabeth   Forbes,  and   Mr.  Craven,  and  Sir  W. 

Gell,  and   Sir  J B were   the   party. — I  had   a  long 

conversation  with  the  latter:  he  is  a  good-hearted,  honourable 
man,  but  I  see  he  is  too  good  for  those  with  whom  he  has  to 
deal;  yet  he  is  not  deficient  in  sound  sense  or  penetration. 
It  is  a  pity  that  he  indulges  too  much  in  the  pleasures  of  con- 
viviality. He  praised  the  Princess  up  to  the  skies,  and  said 
he  believed  her  to  be  "  pure  as  the  unsunned  snows." — Then 
he  said  that  he  himself  had  been  of  the  party  all  the  time  drtr- 
ing  the  story  about  Manly,  and  that  once  when  he  (Manly) 
was  said  to  have  been  in  the  boat  with  her,  it  was  he  himself 
(Sir  J.  B.),  "  therefore,"  added  he,  "  I  know  the  falsity  of 
that  accusation."  He  ended  by  summing  up  all  the  Princess's 
wrongs,  and  declaring  she  was  the  most  cruelly  treated  woman 

in  the  world.     She   had   been   telling  Sir  J of  the  city 

business,  the  box-keeper's  message,  and  Alderman  Wood's 
offer  of  a  private  window  from  whence  she  could  see  the 
show  pass,  and  her  determination  of  going  to  the  play  next 
Thursday. — "I  think,"  said  he  to  me,  "unless  Whitbread 
gives  her  some  very  strong  reasons  to  the  contrary,  she  is  in 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  189 

the  right  to  go  ;  but  I  fancy  he  has  some  good  reasons,  and 
then  she  must  yield.  Gad,"  he  added,  "  if  I  was  her,  and 
Whitbread  did  not  please  me,  T  would  send  for  Castlereagh, 
and  every  one  of  them,  till  I  found  one  that  did.  To  tell  you 
the  truth,  I  am  sorry  the  Princess  ever  threw  herself  into  the 
hands  of  Whitbread — it  is  not  the  stall' on  which  the  Royalties 
should  lean." — "Ah!"  but  I  replied,  "at  the  moment  he 
stepped  forth  her  champion  and  deliverer,  who  was  there  that 
would  have  done  as  much  ?"  Sir  J.  B.  does  not  believe  she 
was  at  so  low  an  ebb;  but  he  does  not  know  all  the  circum- 
stances I  know,  and  I  could  not  explain  them.  He  has  been 
lately  taken  up  as  a  great  friend  of  the  Prince  Regent;  and 
ever  since  he  carried  nhe  King  of  France  over,  he  has  been 
in  high  estimation  at  Carlton  House,  and  was  even  made  the 
Prince' s'did-de-camp.  It  is  but  yesterday,  said  he,  "  that  he 
held  both  my  hands  in  his,  and  called  me  a  d — d  honfcst 
fellow."  What  a  pity,  thought  I,  his  Royal  Highness  does 
not  imitate  you  a  little,  and  try  to  imbibe  some  of  your 
honesty  and  good-heartedness. 

It  is  droll  that  there  is  a  vast  sympathy  between  the  Prince 

R 1  and  Princess  in  their  loves  as  well  as  in  their  hatred^. 

Sir  J.  B is  an  equal  favourite  with  them  both,  as  he  de- 
serves to  be — for  he  is  not  insincere  or  cringing  to  either  of 
them.  I  think  he  is  a  friend  to  both — though  he  sees  their 
respective  faults. — During  dinner  a  note  had  arrived  from  Mr. 
Whitbread,  saying,  that  a  box  was  reserved  for  her  Royal 
Highness,  but  that  he  implored  her  not  to  think  of  going. 

To  this  she  only  ordered  Lady to  reply,  by  desiring  Mr. 

Whitbread  to  come  to  her  immediately;  "if  he  gives  me 
good  reasons,  I  will  submit,"  she  said  to  me,  "  but  if  he  does 
not,  d — n  me,  den  I go"  These  were  her  words,  at  which 
I  could  not  help  smiling — but  she  was  in  no  mood  to  smile — 
so  I  concealed  the  impulse  I  felt  to  laugh,  for  I  cannot  bear 
to  be  of  those  who  wound  her.  The  Princess  kept  us  all  to 
supper,  and  it  was  past  one  o'clock  before  we  were  dismissed. 
Mr.  Whitbread  never  came. 

To  amuse  herself  is  as  necessary  to  her  Royal  Highness 
as  meat  and  drink,  and  she  made  Mr.  Craven  and  Sir  W. 
-Cell,  and  mjsclf,  promise  to  go  with  her  to  the  masquerade. 

She  is  to  go  out  at   her  back  door  on  the  Uxbridge  Road, 

of  which  "  no  person  under  Heaven"  (her  curious  ^phraseo- 
logy) has  a  key  but  her  royal  self,  and  we  are  to  be  in  readi- 
ness to  escort  her  Royal  Highness  in  a  hackney  coach  to  the 


190 


MEMOIRS    OF    THE 


Albany,  where  we  are  to  dress  !  What  a  mad  scheme  !  at 
such -a  moment,  and  without  any  strong  motive  either,  to  run 
the  risk.  1  looked  grave  when  she  proposed  this  amusement, 
but  I  knew  I  had  only  to  obey.  I  thought  ofit  all  night  with 
fear  and  trembling. 

Thursday,    16th. — Mr.    Whitbread    sent   early    to-day  to 

Lady ,  to  say  he  was  out  at  Lord  Jersey's  ball  when  her 

Royal  Ilighness's  note  was  sent  to  him  lastnight,  and  that  now 
he  begged  to  know  at  what  hour  she  chose  to  see  him. — She 
desired  him  to  be  at  Oonnaught  House  at  twelve,  and  Lady 
was  sent  to  speak  to  him  for  a  little  while,  till  the  Prin- 
cess was  ready  to  see  him.     Lady told  Mr.  Whitbread 

how  his  medicine  had  worked,  but  that  nevertheless  she 
thought  it  would  produce  the  desired  effect.  Mr.  Whitbread 
said  he  was  sorry  to  have  been  obliged  to  write  in  the  per- 
emptory manner  he  did  to  the  Princess.  When  she  came 
in  she  gave  him  her  hand,  but  received  him  rather  drily  ; — 
he  then  informed  her  who  some  of  the  persons  were  who 
think  it  best  for  her  Royal  Highness  not  to  go  to  the  play  : 
he  said  Mr.  Tierney,  Mr.  Brougham,  and  Lord  Sefton  were 
of  opinion,  that  however  much  the  Princess  had  been  ap- 
plauded, the  public  would  have  said  it  had  been  done  at  the 
instigation  of  Mr.  Whitbread,  and  was  not  the  spontaneous 
feeling  of  the  people  :  that  the  more  she  was  applauded,  the 
more  they  would  say  so  ;  and  that  if,  on  the  contrary,  a 
strong  pary  of  the  Prince  R — t's  friends,  and  paid  hirelings, 
were  there,  and  that  one  voice  of  disapprobation  were  heard, 
it  might  do  her  considerable  harm  :  "  besides,"  continued 
Mr.  Whitbread,  "  as  the  great  question  about  an  establish- 
ment for  your  Royal  Highness  comes  on  to-morrow,  I  think 
it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  no  one  should  be  able  to 
cast  any  invidious  observation  about  your  forcing  yourself 
on  the  public,  or  seeming  to  defy  your  Royal  HignneSs's 
husband." — In  fine,  the  Princess  was  overruled.  Mr.  Whit- 
bread thanked  her  for  her  condescension  in  listening  to  him, 
and  seemed  really  touched  when  he  said,  "  I  trust,  madam, 
you  will  believe  me  sincere,  when  I  declare  that  no  party  in- 
terest whatever  sways  me  in  this  or  any  other  advice  I  have 
ever  given  your  Royal  Highness,  nor  ever  shall,  to  the  detri- 
ment of  your  interests."  The  Princess,  as  I  am  told,  bowed 
coldly  in  reply  to  this  speech,  and  did  not  seem  to  believe  in 
Mr.   Whitbread's  sincerity.     It  is   not  surprising  that  she 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  191 

should  doubt  and  hesitate  before  placing  confidence  in  any 
one,  for  she  has  been  so  often  cheated,  poor  woman  !  Yet  I 
wish  she  had  replied  with  some  degree  of  answering  kind- 
ness to  Mr.  Whitbread's  assurance  that  he  was  faithful  to  her 
interests.  She  flung  cold  water  on  him,  as  it  were,  just  at 
the  moment  when  he  seemed  roused  to  energy  in  her  cause. 
Alas  !  how  very  foolish  she  is  in  all  that  concerns  her  true 
interests. 

1  dined  in  the  evening  of  the  same  day  with  her  Royal 

Highness.     There  was  no  one  present  except  Lady ; 

the  Princess  went  to  the  Opera  afterwards  with  her.  Lady 
C.  L.  came  in  during  dinner,  having  been  to  Drury  Lane, 
thinking  she  was  there  ;  she  said  she  took  the  liberty  of 
coming  to  tell  the  Princess  that  Princess  Charlotte  had  sent 
for  her  (Lady  C.  L.)  that  morning,  and  had  informed  her 
that  the  Emperor  of  Russia  had  sent  to  tell  the  R — t  that  he 
was  determined  to  visit  the  Princess  of  Wales,  and  to  make 
his  sister  accompany  him  ;  that  he  would  do  so  publicly  to 
show  his  respect  to  her  Royal  Highness,  and  that,  since  the 
Emperor  had  sent  that  message,  the  Prince  R — t  had  not 
spoken  to  his  Imperial  Majesty.  "  Depend  upon  it,  he  goes 
to  my  mother,"  said  the  Princess  Charlotte  to  Lady  C.  L., 
"  and  I  sent  for  you  to  inform  the  Princess  not  to  be  from 
home."  Lady  C.  L.  added,  "  that  Princess  Charlotte  led  a 
very  dull  life,  and  was  extremely  out  of  spirits,  and  consi- 
deiably  hurt  at  the  Prince  of  Orange's  going  out  and  divert- 
ing himself  at  all  public  places,  while  site  remained  shut  up 
in  solitude  ;  and  that  she  thought  he  might  have  refused 
going  to  Carlton  House  unless  she  was  there." — The  Prin- 
cess of  Wales  had  been  told  to-day  that  the  match  was  off 
between  her  daughter  and  the  Prince  of  Orange  ;  but  Lady 
C.  L.  said,  "  No,  madam,  I  do  not  believe  so  at  present,  but 
I  think  very  likely  it  will  be  soon  at  an  •end."  Princess 
Charlotte  told  Lady  C.  L.,  that  when  she  drives  about,  the 
mob  cry  out,  "  God  bless  you,  but  never  forsake  your  mo- 
ther."— The  poor  Princess's  eyes  filled  with  tears  when 
Lady  C.  L.  repeated  this.  She  has  excellent  and  strong  na- 
tural feelings  when  they  are  stirred  ;  but  in  general  all  her 
bad  feelings  are  roused,  and  her  good  ones  smothered,  by 
the  unkindness  and  persecution  she  meets  with.  Thers  is 
no  knowing  what  a  different  person  this  poor  Princess  might 
be,  had  she  the  fair  play  of  other  human  beings.  The 
Princess  wished  Lady  C.  L.,  the  herald  of  this  pleasant 
news,  to  accompany  her  to  the  Opera,  but  her  sister  was  ill, 


192  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

so  she  declined  going.  The  intelligence  she  brought  reani- 
mated the  Princess — perhaps  it  is  all  a  falsehood  from  be- 
ginning to  end,  not  of  Lady  C.  L.'s  invention,  or  of  Princess 
Charlotte's  :  she  herself  may  be  deceived,  or  she  may  deceive 
for  the  pleasure  of  being  agreeable  at  the  moment- — but  what 
a  total  subversion  of  comfort  there  is  when  there  is  no  truth 
to  rest  upon  !  The  music  at  the  Opera  was  divine — the 
house  empty,  of  course. 

Friday,  17th  June. — Lady told  me,  the  Princess  had 

shown  her  a  letter  she  had  been  writing  to  Mr.  Whitbread, 
which  she  intended  to  send,  with  one  she  has  written  to  Lord 
Liverpool,  which  latter  she  intends  to  send  without  asking 
Mr.  Whitbread's  advice:  the  one  she  addresses  to  himself 
accounts  very  plausibly  for  so  doing,  under  the  pretext  of  its 
being  from  motives  of  delicacy  towards  him.  She  says  in  it, 
that,  persecuted  as  she  is,  life  is  a  burthen  to  her;  that  her 
stay  in  this  country  does  no  person  any  good,  and  that  it  is 
worse  than  death  to  herself.  She  thanks  Mr.  Whitbread  for 
all  he  has  attempted  to  do  for  her,  and  ends  by  declaring  her 
unalterable  resolution  to  quit  the  country.  The  letter  of 
course  is  not  good  English,  and  its  mode  of  expression  is  very 
strange  and  entortille.  Nevertheless  there  is  much  of  that 
fire  and  determination  in  it,  which  are  great  ingredients  in 
any  character,  and  which  she  possesses.  Unfortunately  these 
qualities  are  not  prized  or  done  justice  to  in  women — they 
are  called  obstinacy  and  violence,  except  in  some  instances, 
such  as  in  our  Queen  Elizabeth,  the  Catherine  of  Russia,  and  a 
few  others,  where  power  made  men  of  them.  Otherwise,  as 
it  is  the  interest  of  the  stronger  sex  to  subdue  women  men- 
tally and  personally,  at  least  we  imagine  that  it  is  so,  all  dis- 
play of  vigorous  intellect  in  them  is  charged  with  folly,  if 
not  with  crime. 

Again  I  dined  at  Connaught  House.  There  were  Lord 
Fitzwilliam,  Lord  and  Lady  Essex,  Lord  Hardwicke,  Mr. 
and  Miss  G rattan.  Lord  H.  Fitzgerald  and  Lord  de  Roos 
were  to  have  been  of  the  party,  but  there  was  some  mistake 
about  their  invitation,  and  they  did  not  come.  Lord  Fitzwil- 
liam has  delightful  manners,  so  gentle  and  so  polite,  they 
remind  me  of  my  dear  .  There  is  a  divine  expres- 
sion in  his  countenance;  he  is  shy  and  rather  reserved  on 
first  acquaintance,  but  he  is  not  so  to  such  a  degree  as  to 
make  him  disagreeable.  I  believe  Lord  Hardwicke  is  a  very 
good  sort  of  man,  but  he  is  not  so  pleasant  a  person  to  me,  as 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  193 

Lord  Fitzwilliam.  I  was  sorry  the  Princess  did  not  behave 
very  graciously  to  the  Essexes :  she  is  always  committing 
some  fatal  mistakes  respecting  whom  she  ought  to  show 
favour  to,  and  to  whom  she  ought  not; — but  she  said  when 
they  were  gone,  "  I  cannot  like  people  who  take  me  up  only 
because  they  are  displeased  with  the  Regent." — In  this  ob- 
servation there  is  much  truth;  but,  as  the  Princess  can  play 
a  part  sometimes  when  she  chooses,  I  regret  that  she  does 
not  do  so  in  regard  to  paying  attention  to  persons  whom  it  is 
of  consequence  she  should  interest  in  her  favour. 

Before  the  Frincess  dismissed  Lady ,  Miss  ,  or 

myself,  she  received  a  letter  from  Princess  Charlotte,  telling 
her  mother    the   match   between   herself  and  the  Prince  of 
Orange   was    entirely  off,   and  at   the  same   time   enclosing 
a  copy  of  a  letter  she  had  written  to  the  Prince  of  Orange, 
in  which  she  alludes  to  some  point  of  dispute  which  it  seems 
remained  unsettled    between    them;  but  Princess   Charlotte 
does  not  precisely  name  what  that  point  was,  and   chiefly 
rests  her  delermination  of  not  leaving  this  kingdom  upon  the 
necessity  of  her  remaining  in  England  to  support  her  mother. 
The   whole  letter  turns  upon  the  Princess  of  Wales — it  is 
extremely  well    written    and  very   strong.     I  conclude  the 
words  are  Miss  Knight's,  but  the  sentiments,  for  the  present 
moment,   are    Princess    Charlotte's.      This    letter   gave    the 
Princess  of  Wales  a  great  feeling  of  affection  for  her  daughter, 
and  triumph  at  her  declaring  herself  determined  to  remain 
and  support  her  against  the  Prince  R — t;  but  then,  on  reflec- 
tion, came  the  recollection  that  it  was  calcnlated  to  be  a  great 
barrier  to  her  going  abroad,  and   instead  of  this  intelligence 
being  pleasant  to  her,  it  made  the  Princess  so  full  of  care  and 
thought,  that  she  soon   dismissed  us.     I  know  too   much  of 
all  parties  to  believe  that  Princess  Charlotte,  in  her  heart, 
quarrelled  with  her  lover  from  any  motive  of  real  tenderness 
towards  her   mother.     I   believe  that  what  the   Princess  of 
Wales  told  me  some  time  ago  is  perfectly  true,  namely,  that 
her  daughter  did  not  at  all  admire  the  Prince  of  Orange,  and 
only  wanted  to  be  her  own  mistress;  and  now  finding,  I  con- 
clude, that  that  end  would  not  be  answered  by  marrying  him, 
she  has  determined  to  break  off  the  engagement.     I  won- 
der what  will  ensue  of  her  doing  do.     The  Princess's  mother 
will  not   give  up  the  amusement  of  going  abroad;    and  in 
order  to  do  this,  I  fear  she  will  act  foolishly,  offend    her 
daughter,  and  lose  the  advantage  of  her  support. 
Vol.  I.  17 


194  MEMOIRS    OF    TI1K 


LETTERS 


PRINCESS     OF     WALES 


The  following  compositions  betray  a  want  of  education  which  in  the 
present  day  would  be  disgraceful  even  to  a  person  of  the  middle  class. 
But  many  of  the  sentiments  are  kind;  and  an  impartial  judge  would  be 
apt  to  say,  in  reading  them,  "  This  person  was  not  intended  by  nature 
to  be  a  bad  character." 

An  anecdote  related  of  the  prince  of  Borghese's  father,  may  be  illus- 
trative of  the  degree  of  value  placed  upon  the  attainments  of  princes  in 
general  by  their  relatives?;  in  former  days,  though  now  the  light  of  culti- 
vated intellect  has  even  illumined  their  Cimmerian  darkness. — The 
Prince  entered  the  apartment  of  his  son,  whom  he  found  in  tears :  the 
Preceptor  told  the  cause — "  He  would  not  learn  to  write  or  to  read." — 
"  Pho,  pho,"  said  the  father,  "  what  signifies — do  not  plague  the  child  ; 
he  will  always  have  some  one  paid  to  do  that  for  him." 


No.  I. 

"  June  27th. 
"  MY  DEAR  , 

"  I  send  you  a  new  novel  of  Madame  de  Genlis',  '  Made- 
moiselle de  la  Fayette' — I  think  it  will  interest  and  amuse 
you  at  the  same  time. 

"  The  subject  is  taken  from  the  reign  of  Louis  XIII.  and 
Anne  d'Autriche.  The  colouring  of  the  characters  has  proved 
a  very  happy  effort  of  genius,  and,  after  my  taste  and  my 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  195 

humble  judgment,  I  think  it  one  of  the  very  best  that  ever 
she  wrote,  except  '  Les  Vceux  Temeraires.' 

"  I  am  in  expectation  this  morning  of  seeing  Madame  de 
Stael,  and  I  shall  fairly  give  my  opinion  upon  this  new  me- 
teor, which  is  now  in  full  blaze  upon  our  atmosphere — I 
trust  it  will  not  be  long  before  I  shall  have  the  pleasure  of 
seeing  you  again. 

"  Believe  me,  in  the  mean  while, 

"  Your  affectionate 
"C.  P." 

"  I  have  opened  my  letter  again,  to  announce  to  you  that- 
Miss  Johnstone  is  agoing  to  be  married  to  Don  Antonio,  on 
account  of  her  £40,000. 

"  Lady  Davy  has  not  taken  the  least  notice,  by  writing  or 
by  verbal  message,  of  keeping  her  promise  to  bring  Madame 
de  Stael  to  me,  and  I  begin  to  suspect  that  Madame  de  Stael 
will  be  guided  by  the  torrent,  and  may  live  this  moment  in 
the  hopes  of  being  introduced  on  the  30th,  '  dans  le  Palais 
de  la  ^'erite.' — On  the  Friday  following,  which  is  the  2d 
July,  I  hear  there  will  be  given  in  Pall  Mall  also  a  great 
breakfast  «  dans  le  Temple  de  la  Justice.'  I  am  determined 
to  be  very  proud,  and  not  to  take  one  single  step  if  it  is 
not  entirely  from  Madame  de  Stael' s  own  impulse  that  she 
becomes  acquainted  with  me ;  but  pray,  if  you  have  heard 
any  thing  on  the  subject,  and  that  my  suspicions  rest  on  good 
foundation,  let  me  know,  as  I  am  quite  resigned  to  any  dis- 
appointment of  that  nature." 

It  was  even  so.  Madame  de  Stael  did  go  with  the  torrent. 
She  would  not  know  the  Princess,  and  paid  the  most  servile 
court  to  the  Regent,  after  she  had  once  prevailed  on  him  to 
visit  her  first,  in  her  lodgings  in  George  Street:  she  insisted 
upon  this  unusual  compliment  being  paid  her,  and  she  carried 
her  point.  The  Prince  did  visit  her  in  her  lodgings  ;  it  is 
reported  that  she  treated  him  cavalierly,  and  spoke  in  a  strain 
of  personal  praise,  which  was  too  strong  for  his  taste,  parti- 
cularly dwelling  on  the  beauty  of  the  form  of  his  legs,  but 
saying  very  little  to  him  of  the  glories  of  his  country,  or  the 
powers  of  his  mind.  The  interview  was  not  supposed  to  be 
pleasant  to  either  party;  nevertheless  Madame  de  Stael  con- 
tinued her  adulatory  conduct  to  the  Prince.  It  was  unlike 
her  nobilitv  of  diameter  to  show  disrespect  to  one  of  her 


196  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

own  sex,  or  to  join  in  a  hue  and  cry  against  her,  which,  if  it 
were  founded  in  truth,  would  not  have  been  amiable,  and  if 
it  were  false,  was  utterly  unworthy  of  Madame  de  Stael.  To 
lend  herself  to  any  party  for  any  reward  of  court  favour,  was 
so  totally  unlike  the  principles  she  professed  and  the  general 
tenor  of  her  conduct  through  life,  that,  were  it  not  for  the 
discrepancies  which  exist  in  all  human  character,  one  could 
not  credit  that  she  should  have  acted  thus;  but  so  it  was. — 
She,  who  braved  Bonaparte's  ire,  crouched  to  the  tyranny  of 
George  IV. 


No.  II. 

"  DEAR , 

"  I  should  not'so  long  have  delayed  answering  your  letter, 
which  so  earnestly  requested  a  return,  if  I  had  not  hoped  to 
atone  for  my  seeming  neglect;  but,  as  I  live  in  my  little  nut- 
shell, like   a   hermit,  and   never   meet   Princes,   Lords,  nor 
Commons,  and  all  such  paraphernalia  of  ornaments,  I  cannot 
decorate  our  epistolary  correspondence   by  a  fine  franc   on 
the  envelope  of  the  letter.     Nevertheless,  I  can  assure  you, 
in  a  situation  like  mine,  the  world  and  its  blessings  are  seen 
in  their  just  point  of  estimation  ;  but,  when  a  blessing  of  real 
innate  value  glides  before  me,  I  catch  it  and  strain  it  to  my 
bosom   with   all   the  eagerness  of  poverty.     Judge,  then,  of 
the  transport  with  which  I  seize  my  pen,  to  apprize  you  that 
my  daughter  has  acted  with  the  greatest  firmness,  prompti- 
tude, and  energy  of  character  possible,  in  the  very  intricate 
business  concerning  her  marriage.     She  has  manoeuvred  and 
conquered  the  Regent  so  completely,  that  there  can  be  no 
more   doubt   that   the   marriage   is   broke   off.     The   Prince 
hereditary  of  Orange  was  secretly  sent  for  by  the  Regent, 
and  arrived  under  the  feigned  name  of  Captain  St.  George. 
Under  that  same  name,  he  presented  himself  next  day  at  War- 
wick House  early  in  the  morning.     She  was  in  bed,  anil  had 
not  expected  him  in  this  country.  Miss  Knight  received  him. 
She   had  afterwards  a  long  conversation  with  him,  in  which 
she  showed  him  every  letter  that  had  passed  between  her 
father  and  her  upon  that  subject.     She  then  declared  to  him 
that  she  never  would  leave  this  country,  except  by  an  act  of 
Parliament,  and  by  her  own  especial  desire.     She  then  de- 
sired that  he  might  retire,  and  that  she  would  not  see  him 
again   till  these  matters  were  settled.     Two  days  after,  he 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  197 

came  again,  and  brought  a  message  from  the  Regent,  in 
which  he  proposed  to  her  that  he  would  forgive  and  forget 
every  thing,  and  that  she  should  immediately  come  to  him, 
and  that  every  thing  should  be  arranged  in  the  most  amicable 
manner.  She  declared  that  she  would  not  see  her  father,  or 
any  of  the  family,  till  their  consent  to  her  remaining  in  this 
country  had  been  obtained,  or  that  otherwise,  the  marriage 
would  be  broke  oft*.  She  lias  received  no  answer  since  the 
course  of  a  week  from  her  father,  and  she  supposes  that  the 
papers  have  been  sent  to  Holland,  to  make  the  family  there 
also  a  party  concerned  in  a  new  political  question  for  the 
future  happiness  of  England.  It  has,  in  my  opinion,  nothing 
at  all  to  do  with  the  Dutch  family.  The  Duchess  of  Olden- 
burgh,  I  believe,  is  her  chief  adviser,  and  as  she  is  a  clever 
woman,  and  knowsthe  world  and  mankind  well,  my  daughter 
cannot  be  in  better  hands.  They  are  a  great  deal  together, 
which  makes  the  Regent  outrageous,  and  his  good  looks  and 
spirits  will  not  be  of  long  duration,  if  he  will  be  beaten, 
'plate  couture,''  by  his  daughter.  She  desired  also  not  to 
see  the  Prince  of  Orange  again,  till  she  received  the  definitive 
answer  upon  her  request. 

"  I  am  quite  transfixed  with  astonishment  that  my  daughter 
at  last  has  resumed  her  former  character  of  intrepidity  and 
fortitude,  as  her  father  frightens  her  in  every  manner  possible, 
that  her  character  would  be  lost  in  the  world  by  her  fickleness 

to  break  off  her  marriage.      My  paying  a  visit,  my  dear , 

will  be  either  before  the  22d  of  this  month,  or  after,  for  as  I 
intend  merely  to  come  to  see  you  and  enjoy  your  personal 
society,  I  rather   wish  to  meet  nobody  there,  and  I  wish   to 
spend  a  few  moments  of  our  eternal  friendship  together. 
"  With  these  sentiments, 

"  I  remain  for  ever,  yours, 

"  most  truly  and  affectionately, 
"C.  P." 

"  Madame  de  Stael  set  off  yesterday  for  Paiis.  I  send 
you  the  will  of  Napoleon,*  which  I  wrote  con  amore  for 
your  perusal ;  you  may  show  it  to  any  body,  but  without  my 
name." 

What  a  miserable  view  of  human  nature  is  here  unfolded  ! 

*   Something  copied  out  of  a  French  Brochure. 
17* 


198  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

A  daughter  mistrusting  her  father,  and,  conceiving  that  a  mar- 
riage was  only  proposed  for  her  which  should  take  her  out  of 
the  kingdom.  At  the  same  time  it  must  be  acknowledged, 
that  if  the  Princess  Charlotte  was  under  this  impression,  it 
was  reasonable  she  should  arm  herself  against  the  dreaded 
evil  ;  and  had  the  Prince  of  Orange  loved  her  truly,  he  could 
not  have  refused  to  accede  to  the  terms  on  which  she  con- 
sented to  become  his  bride.  But  a  different  fate  awaited  her: 
$he  had  at  least  one  gleam  of  brightness  in  her  brief  and 
melancholy  career.  She  married  a  man  to  whom  she  gave 
her  heart,  and  one  who  seemed  worthy  of  the  prize.  Of  all 
difficult  parts  to  play  well  and  with  dignity,  that  of  king  con- 
sort is  the  most  so.  A  man  is  in  a  false  position  who  stands 
second  in  power  to  his  wife ;  and  it  may  be  questioned 
whether  this  marriage  would  have  ended  happily, — but  it 
was  dissolved  before  it  had  been  tried  by  the  touchstone  of 
time... 


No.  III. 

"  Friday  Morning. 
"  MY  DEAR  , 

"  You  must  be  at  half  past  eleven  at  Blackheath  on  Mon- 
day;  I  shall  send  you  the  carriage  in  time: — you  must  be 
also  so  good  to  send  through  the  bearer  this  '  Le  Gentil 
Troubadour?  which  I  think  must  be  amongst  your  music,  as 
it  is  not  to  be  found  amongst  mine,  and  young  S— —  is  very 
anxious  to  have  it  back. 

"  The  editor  of  the  *****  has  behaved  quite  scandal- 
ously : — he  has  been  corrupted  and  bribed  from  Carlton 
House  since  a  week,  and,  though   Dr.   Warburton   affirms, 

that  so  late  as  six  weeks  back,  Mr.   M has  left  him, 

having  been  under  his  care,  and  not  even  then  believed  to 
have  been  well,  and  he  has  been  the  creator  of  forging  false 
letters,  pretending  to  be  from  me  to  him  ;  still  the  Editor  will 
not  relent,  or  hear  reason,  and  will  publish  the  whole  fabri- 
cated correspondence,  which   is  a  false   and  foul  one,,  in  his 

next  Sunday's  paper.   Poor  Lady  Anne  and  Lady  P 1  are 

in  the  greatest  alarm  possible  ;  I  wish  you  would  write  a 
very  strong  cojitradiction  for  the  Examiner,  that  this  is  a 
new  trick  played,  and  that  the  Editor  of  *  *  *  *  *  will  not 
even  suffer  Dr.  Warburton,  or  the  lawyer,  to  take  an  affidavit 
of  Mr.   M ls  being  mad.     Write    this  to  ,  and  to 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  199 

,  and  all  our  friends,  that  they  do  not  any  longer  take 

the  News,  as  he  must  know  that  people  of  respectability  do 
not  like  to  be  imposed  on,  and  that  every  body  may  some 
day  or  other  be  liable  to  see  forged  letters  of  their's  in 
**•  *  mm  ]yjy  servant  is  quite  at  your  service.  If  you  have 
any  letters  to  send  ready  by  him,  he  may  wait,  as  he  is  be- 
sides going  that  way  to  town. 

"  Heaven  bless  you,  and  believe  me,  for  ever, 

"  Yours, 
"C.  P." 


It  is  impossible,  at  this  distance  of  time,  to  sift  the  truth 
from  the  falsehood,  respecting  this  transaction  with  editors  of 
newspapers.  To  say  the  best  of  it,  it  is  always  to  be  lament- 
ed, when  ladies  of  rank  and  charactei  enter  into  any  discus- 
sion, or  are  in  any  way  mixed  up  with  similar  stories. 
Certain  it  is,  that  after  this  time  the  Princess  of  Wales  gra- 
dually dropped  all   intimacy  with   Lady  P .     Whether 

she  imagined  that  lady  had  in  any  way  compromised  her  in 
this  business,  does  not  appear — but  the  intercourse  between 
them  ceased.  How  vain  for  the  Princess  to  imagine  that  her 
command  would  suffice  to  make  any  one  discard  a  newspaper 
or  journal  which  might  chance  to  amuse  them! — No!  not 
even  if  they  saw  their  best  friends  shown  up  in  its  columns. 
Indeed,  that  circumstance  might  be  an  additional  reason  for 
taking  it  in.  Amiable  !  but  true  !  Vide  the  Satirist,  the  Age, 
Sic,  in  which,  it  is  currently  reported,  people  in  the  highest 
circles  of  fashion  not  only  read  of  their  friends,  but  write  of 
them. 


No.  IV. 

u  Sompting  Abbey,  Sussex,  July  29th,  1814. 
"  DEAR  .  , 

"I  am  in  great  haste,  as  you  may  easily  imagine,  as  I  have 
postponed  my  writing  to  you  till  I  could  give  you  a  definitive 
and  comfortable  account  of  all  my  proceedings. 

"  On  Monday,,  the  25th,  at  two  o'clock,  I  delivered  my 
letter  for  the  perusal  of  the  Prince  Regent  into  Mr.  Canning's 
hands,  but  previously  my  brother  had  sent  a  gentleman,  his 
grand  ecuyer,  the  week  preceding,  as  he  was  prevented  him- 


200  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

self  from  coming  to  accompany  me  to  Brunswick,  that  this 
gentleman  should  take  charge  of  me  ;  and  through  that  medium 
1  was  informed  already  that  there  would  he  no  objection  made, 
either  on  the  part  of  the  ministers  or  the  Prince  Regent  him- 
self, to  go  abroad  for  some  time,  and  unconditionally  upon 
any  other  point.  But  knowing  that  it  would  be  gratifying 
to  you  to  see  the  answer,  I  have  enclosed  a  copy,  which  Mr. 

H will  forward  to  you  with  this  letter.     The  same  day 

that  I  sent  my  letters,  I  went  to  Norbury — where  I  stayed 
the  night,  and  arrived  next  day  for  my  late  dinner,  at  nine 
o'clock,  at  Sompting.  But  last  night,  in  the  midst  of  a  most 
violent  storm  of  thunder  and  lightning,  a  king's  messenger 
arrived  ;  as  if  from  the  clouds,  sent  by  Jupiter  with  his 
thunderbolts.  It  is  the  most  gracious  letter  that  ever  was 
written  to  me  from  that  quarter — "  end  well,  all  well ;" — 
and  I  feel  quite  happy  and  comfortable  at  the  prospect  that 
we  can  now  soon  meet  each  other,  and  enjoy  each  other's 
society,  in  a  warmer  climate.  I  have  desired  that  the  man  of 
war  is  to  be  ready  by  the  6th  of  August,  that  I  may  set  sail 
with  the  full  moon  on  the  8th,  to  go  immediately  by  Cux- 
haven,  the  shortest  way  to  Brunswick.  I  shall  only  remain 
a  fortnight  in  my  native  country,  anxious  to  go  by  the  Rhine 
to  Switzerland,  and  so  to  Naples  before  the  bad  weather  sets 
in.  I  trust  to  meet  you  there  (I  mean  to  say  in  Switzerland)^ 
and  take  you  in  my  suite  to  Naples.  I  heard  of  Mr.  Craven 
of  your  safe  arrival  at  Paris,  and  how  much  you  had  been 
admired,  which  has  given  me  great  satisfaction,  to  hear  that 
the  Parisians  have,  at  least  for  once,  shown  good  taste  and 
judgment. 

"I  saw  Princess  Charlotte  on  Saturday,  two  days  before  I 
set  out;  she  seems  much  more  calm  and  resigned  to  her  prison 
at  Cranbourne  Lodge  than  I  expected.  She  is  to  go  after- 
wards to  the  sea-side.  Warwick  House  is  to  be  demolished, 
and  a  new  wing  built  to  Carlton  House  ;  and  the  Regent  is 
to  remove  to  the  Duke  of  Cumberland's  apartments,  in  St. 
James's  Palace.  This,  I  believe,  is  all  the  news  I  can  offer 
you.  The  marriage  of  Georgina  Fitzroy  and  Lord  Wor- 
cester took  place  last  Monday,  and  Emily  Pole's  and  Lord 
Fitzroy  Somerset's  is  to  be  next  week.  They  are  going  to 
Paris,  with  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  as  he  is  his  secretary. 
Don't  trouble  yourself  with  answering  my  letter,  as  it  certain- 
ly would  not  find  me.  In  September,  I  shall  certainly  be 
near  you  in  some  part  of  Switzerland,  and  you  may  imagine 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  201 

how  anxious  I  shall  be  to  assure  you  again  in  person  of  my 
sincere  and  unfeigned  attachment,  with  which 

"  I  remain, 

"  Ever  yours, 

«C.  P." 


Poor  Princess  !  she  played  her  enemies'  game.  Of  course 
the  adverse  party  desired  nothing  more  than  that  she  should 
leave  England.  "  The  most  gracious  letter  that  ever  was 
written  to  me  from  that  quarter."  It  was  the  fable  of  the 
Fox  and  the  Crow.  She  swallowed  the  flattery  and  fell  into 
the  snare,  which  ultimately  caused  her  death.  The  Princess 
Charlotte,  too,  could  not  think  her  mother's  heart  was 
wrapped  up  in  her,  when  she  left  her  in  no  very  pleasant 
circumstances,  to  go  whither? — she  knew  not  herself — and 
why  ? — merely  to  get  rid  of  time,  and  lose  by  change  of  scene 
and  idle  amusement  a  bitter  sense  of  the  indignities  she  had 
received; — but  it  is  impossible  not  to  feel  that,  if  the  Prin- 
cess had  possessed  as  much  moral  courage  as  she  had  per- 
sonal fearlessness — as  much  of  principle  as  she  had  of  good 
impulses, — her  whole  fate  would  have  been  far  different  from 
what  it  was.  True,  she  had  been  grossly  insulted  at  the  time 
when  the  foreign  potentates  came  to  England,  and  to  Eng- 
land's monarch  almost  as  vassals  subject  to  his  power.  Dis- 
carded by  her  husband  from  every  public  and  private  homage 
due  to  her  rank  ; — branded  with  a  dark  stigma  of  crime,  which 
her  enemies  dared  not  examine  into  or  avow  openly,  and  in 
which  their  machinations  had  been  secretly,  years  before,  de- 
feated, when  they  attempted  to  prove  their  charge  ; — mocked 
by  the  King  of  Prussia's  pusillanimous  conduct  in  sending 
his  chamberlain  to  her  with  professions  of  regard,  but  avow- 
ing that  under  circumstances  he  dared  not  come  to  her  him- 
self— he  in  whose  cause  her  father,  the  Duke  of  Brunswick, 
had  fought,  and  her  brother  lost  his  life  ; — spit  upon,  as  it 
were,  by  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  who  now  would,  and  now 
would  not  come  to  visit  her,  and  of  whom  it  is  said,  that  as 
he  was  actually  leaving  his  apartment  to  pay  her  a  visit,  one 

of  the  R t's  ministers  almost  fell  on  his  knees  before  him 

to  prevent,  and  ultimately  did  prevent  him  from  going  to 
her  ; — thus  persecuted,  defamed,  tormented — much  may  be 
said  in  extenuation  of  her  unwise  resolution  to  leave  England 
and  her  cares  for  a  time,  at  least,  behind  her — but  it  was  a 


202  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

great  moral  mistake,  and  a  greater  political  one.  Her 
daughter,  too,  had  a  short  time  before  proved  her  love  for  her 
mother,  by  flying  to  her  arms  in  a  moment  of  offended  pride 
— when  her  escrutoire  had  been  broken  open,  and  her  cor- 
respondence seized — her  favourite  attendant  and  guardian, 
one  of  the  most  high-minded  women  in   the  world,  and  the 

kindest-hearted,  Miss  K ,  turned  rudely  in  disgrace  away, 

and    herself  removed    to    a   sort  of  prison,  near  Windsor. 
Whom  then  did  Princess  Charlotte  fly  to  ?  her  mother. — Her 
mode  of  doing  this  was  wild,  and  evidently  the  impulse  of  an 
offended  pride — but  the  act  was  dictated  by  nature.     Where, 
if  not  in  the   arms  of  a  mother,  can  a  child  find  refuge? — 
The  Princess  Charlotte  fled  from  Warwick  House  unattended 
and  unobserved,  got  into   the  first  hackney  coach  she  could 
find,  and  desired  to  be  driven  toConnaught  Place.     The  man 
must  have  guessed  that  he  drove  a  person  of  no  mean  note, 
as  the  Princess  put  a  guinea  into  his  hand — but  he  was  in  no 
wise  to  blame  in  driving  her  where  she  ordered.     Her  mother 
was  out  when  she  arrived.     The  Princess's  chief  page,  see- 
ing her  arrive  in  such  an  equipage  and  unattended,  was,  as  he 
himself  declared,  thunderstruck  ;  but,  of  course,  ushered  her 
into   the   drawing  room,    where   she   awaited   her   mother's 
return.     It  is  said  the  Princess,  either  from  fear  of  the  conse- 
quences, or  from  surprise,  did  not  receive  the  Princess  Char- 
lotte with  that  warmth  of  affection  which  it  would  have  been 
more  natural  and   more  fortunate   for  both   parties,  had   she 
displayed.     But,  terrified  lest  anything  should  detain  her  in 
England,  the  Princess  of  Wales  was  loth  to  offend  the  Re- 
gent at  that  moment,  and  therefore  did  all  she  could  to  dis- 
suade her  daughter  from  remaining  with  herself,  and  begged 
her  to  return  to  her  allegiance  to  her  father.     It  may  be  ques- 
tioned whether  this  was  altogether  rfght  under  the  immediate 
circumstances  of  the  case.     Had  she  preached  obedience  to 
her  father's  will,  but  at  the  same  time  offered  her  an  asylum 
with  herself,  in  the  event  of  her  determination  to  remain  with 
her,  it  would  have  been  acting  in  the  true  spirit  of  maternal 
love — but  it  seems  that  she  did  not,  and  that  there  was  an 
evident  bias  in  the  Princess  of  Wales  towards  her  mode  of 
conduct  which  evinced  greater  anxiety  for  her  own  pleasure 
than  love  for  her  child.     She  sent  for  the  Duke  of  York — 
she  sent  for  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury — and,  finally,  they 
prevailed   with    Princess    Charlotte   to    return    to    Warwick 
House.  - 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  203 

The  Princess  of  Wales  was  as  much  blamed  by  the  adverse 
party  on  this  occasion,  as  if  she  had  instigated  her  daughter 
to  the  deed  of  having  run  away  from  Warwick  House — and 
though  the  consequences  are  incalculable,  had  her  Royal 
Highness  pursued  a  different  line  of  conduct — supported  her 
daughter  with  mildness,  but  with  steady  resolve  to  be  to  her 
indeed  a  mother,  in  all  the  tenderness  of  the  tie — yet  it  will 
always  remain  a  problem  to  be  solved,  whether  the  Princess 
did  or  did  not  act  rightly,  by  giving  up  Princess  Charlotte  to 
her  father,  her  uncle,  and  the  church.  Certain  it  is,  her 
Royal  Highness  had  used  no  influence  whatever  to  induce 
Princess  Charlotte  to  act  as  she  did — the  deed  was  her  own, 
and  no  other  person  whatever  had  any  share  In  it. 

The  sequel  of  this  most  melancholy  history,  must  have 
embittered  the  Princess  of  Wales's  life,  and  the  idea,  that, 
had  she  remained  in  England,  she  might  have  saved  her 
child's  life,  must  have  been  a  deep  aggravation  to  all  her 
sorrows. 


No.  V. 


MY  DEAR 


"I  suppose  by  this  time  you  have  been  informed  of  the 
result  of  the  business  in  the  House  of  Commons  yesterday; 
though  it  has  been  in  some  measure  satisfactory,  I  am  not 

VET  SATISFIED. 

"  I  should  not  have  troubled  you  with  these  lines,  was  it 
not  on  account  of  a  visit  which  you  will  receive  to-morrow; 

namely,  Mrs.  B k.     She  came  this  morning  again,  being 

very  busy  to  carry  messages  back  and  forward  to  Lord  Grey, 
which  I  had  declined  completely,  and  that  she  certainly  never 

would  disclose  anything  to  Mr.  A 1,  though  he  was  her 

great  friend.  I  never  saw  any  woman  compromise  herself  in 
such  a  way  as  she  did  this  morning;  for  which  reason,  I  am 
particularly  anxious,  that  if  she  should  make  any  questions 
to  you,  you  would  be  particularly  careful,  and,  to  avoid  any 
questions  concerning  the  family  of  Oxfords,  Lord  Byron  and 
Co.,  as  I  cannot  help  thinking,  that  she  has  more  curiosity 
than  ladies  usually  have;  Sir  F.  B.  must  also  not  be  named. 
In  short,  you  must  be  as  much  upon  your  guard  as  possible. 


204  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

Holland  House  is,  of  course,  entirely  against  poor  me,  and 
their  have  send  her  as  a  spy  to  Black — th. 
"  Heaven  bless  you, — I  am  in  great  haste, 

"Your 

"  Most  truly  affectionate, 
"C.  P." 
"  After  you   have  read   the   newspaper,   pray   send   it   to 
;  but  let  C see  it." 

How  miserable  must  that  person  be,  who  has,  in  fact,  no 
one  friend  in  whom  she  can  confide ! — Mrs.  B.  was,  I  really 
believe,  attached  to  her  Royal  Highness ;  and  yet  the  Princess 
doubted  and  feared  her.  The  cautions  contained  in  this  let- 
ter, against  this  lady,  were  addressed  to  a  person  whom  she 
afterwards  cast  off  in  like  manner ;  although  I  have  good 
reason  to  know  her  Royal  Highness,  in  her  heart,  was  per- 
fectly convinced  that  that  person  remained  her  true  friend  to 
the  last.  It  is  a  singular  fact,  that  when  the  unfortunate 
Princess  passed  through  Rome,  and  that  the  Duchess  of  D. 
sent  word  to  the  Cardinal  Gonsalvi,  if  the  Pope  valued  the 

friendship  of  the  Prince  R 1,  he  must  not  send  a  guard  of 

honour  to  the  Princess,  a  steady  friend  of  the  latter  (whom 
her  Royal  Highness  would  not,  however,  receive)  sent  her 
word  by  a  famous  antiquary,  that  if  her  Royal  Highness 
would  leave  on  the  continent  every  individual  foreign  attend- 
ant, and  throw  herself  on  the  generosity  of  a  British  public, 
she  had  yet  a  great  part  to  play.  The  Princess  had  confi- 
dence in  the  person  and  in  the  advice,  (although  she  no  longer 
liked  the  society  of  that  person,)  and,  acting  upon  it,  imme- 
diately set  off  that  night  for  England.  Had  she  acted  a  dif- 
ferent part  there,  what  might  have  been  the  consequences? 


No.  VI. 


*'  I  still  continue  to  live  in  the  same  active  idleness ;  my 
party  for  Sunday  dinner  was  small,  as  it  did  consist  only  of 

ten  people;  but  Lord  B- n  was  more  lively  and  odd  than 

ever,  and  he  kept  us  in  a  roar  of  laughter  the  whole  dinner 
time.     In  the  evening,  Catalini  sung.     William  Spencer  came 

with  the  family  of  Mr.  C .     The  daughter  is  the  finest 

piano  player  I  ever  heard  in  this  country — and  Mr.  Craven 
and   Mr.  Mercer  sung  their  delightful  Spanish  songs.     At 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  205 

supper,  Mr.  Lewis  was  more  absorbed  and  queer  than  ever. 
Yesterday,  I  received  your  amiable  letter,  and  would  have 
answered  it  sooner,  but  that  I  forgot  to  have  a  frank.  Lord 
Glenbervie  does  not  come  till  to-day.  After  the  hot  and  dull 
dinner  at  Spring  Gardens,  I  went  to  the  Opera  House  to  see 
a  play — one  act  of  an  opera,  and  the  ballet  of  Psyche,  for  the 
benefit  of  Kelly:  it  was  as  full  as  it  could  hold,  and  I  returned 
to  my  solitary  supper.  I  am  rathei  early  this  morning,  as  I 
expect  the  Marquis.  I  have  not  yet  seen  any  body  that  par- 
ticularly interests  you  since  you  left  this  sphere.  If  I  could 
be  of  any  use  to  you,  you  know  how  glad  I  should  be.  I  am 
always  ready  to  do  mon  petit  possible.  Monday  the  \8th 
will  be  a  grand  masquerade  at  Mrs.  Chichester's — and  if 
you  mention  it  to  some  of  your  intimate  acquaintance,  they 
would  .procure  you  some  tickets  for  your  family  and  your 
friends.  There  is  a  week  almost  to  consider  of  it,  and  if  it 
is  agreeable  to  you,  which  is  sufficient  to  me. 

"  I  had  a  very  surprising  visit  yesterday  from  the  Duke  of 
Gloucester,  and  he  comes  the  24th  to  dinner ;  I  cannot  help 
thinking  that  the  visit  was  intended  for  you.  If  he  has  no 
other  merit,  he  has,  at  least,  that  of  admiring  beauties,  which 
is  certainly  the  ninth  part  in  a  speech.*  I  could  write  a 
volume  to  you,  had  I  but  time  ;  but  as  it  is,  you  escape  this 
misfortune,  luckily  for  you — and  I  only  subscribe  myself, 
with  the  greatest  pleasure, 

"  Your  most  sincere  and  affectionate — C.  P. 

"  Kensington  would  be  the  surest  place  to  go  from  on  that 
day.     Lady  Glenbervie  must  not  hear  of  it. 
"  Par  causa,  give  mc  an  answer  soon." 

There  is  a  curious  story  respecting  this  masquerade.  The 
Princess,  it  was  related  to  me  by  undoubted  authority,  would 
go  to  the  masquerade,  and  with  a  kind  of  girlish  folly,  she 
enjoyed  the  idea  of  making  a  grand  mystery  about  it,  which 

was  quite  unnecessary.     The  Duchess  of  Y k  frequently 

went  to  similar  amusements  incognito,  attended  only  by  a 
friend  or  two,  and  nobody  found  fault  with  her  Royal  High- 
ness. The  Princess  might  have  done  the  same,  but  no  ! — 
the  fun,  in  her  estimation,  consisted  in  doing  the  thing  in  the 

*  One  has  heard  of  a  tailor's  being  the  ninth  part  of  a  man,  and  that 
is  the  idea  which  perhaps  ran  in  her  Royal  Highness's  mind  when  she 
wrote  this  lucid  illustration  of  the  royal  Duke's  merit. 

Vol.  I.  18 


20G  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

most  ridiculous  way  possible  ;  so  she  made  two  of  her  ladies 
privy  to  her  scheme,  and  the  programme  of  the  revel  was, 
that  her  Royal  Highness  should  go  down  a  back  staircase  with 
one  of  her  ladies,  while  the  cavaliers  waited  at  a  private  door 
which  led  into  the  street,  and  then  the  parti  quarre  was  to 
proceed  on  foot  to  the  Albany,  where  more  ladies  met  her 
Royal  Highness,  and  where  the  change  of  dress  was  to  be 

made.     All  of  this  actually  took  place,  and  Lady told 

me,  she  never  was  so  frightened  in  her  life,  as  when  she 
i'ound  herself  at  the  bottom  of  Oxford  Street,  at  twelve  at 
night,  on  her  cavalier's  arm — and  seeing  her  Royal  Highness 
rolling  on  before  her.  It  was  a  sensation,  she  told  me,  be-' 
tween  laughing  and  crying,  that  she  should  never  forget. 
The  idea  that  the  Princess  might  be  recognized,  and  of 
course  mobbed,  and  then  the  subsequent  consequences,  which 
would  have  been  so  fatal  to  her  Royal  Highness,  were  all  so 
distressing  to  her,  that  the  party  of  pleasure  was  one  of  real 
pain  to  her. 

This  mad  prank,  however,  Lady told  me,  passed  off 

without  discovery — and  certainly,  without  any  impropriety 
whatever,  except  that  which  existed  in  the  folly  of  the  thing 
itself.  It  was  similar  imprudencies  to  this  which  were  so 
fatal  to  the  Princess's  reputation  ;  and  truly,  it  might  have 
been  said  of  them,  "  Le  jeu  ne  valoit  pas  la  chandelle." 

This  anecdote  is  alluded  to  in  the  body  of  the  diary,  but 
the  letter  calls  for  a  note  in  this  place. 

Whenever  the  Princess  did  not  like  the  visit  of  any  person 
— she  ascribed  it  to  the  attractions  or  influences  of  some  one 
of  her  household.  This  was  a  hint  that  the  person  should 
not  come  again.  In  the  present  instance,  as  in  many  others, 
how  fatally  mistaken  her  Royal  Highness  was,  in  respect  to 

the  estimation  in  which  she  held  the  Duke  of  G .     To 

have  had  the  countenance  and  friendship  of  so  good  a  man, 
was  of  incalculable  consequence  to  her,  and  she  despised 
both. 


No.  VI. 


"  I  found  a  pair  of  old  earings  which  the  d of  a  1} , 

once  gifted  me  with.  I  truly  belived  that  the  saphires  arfals 
as  her  heart  and  soul  is,  but  the  dimonds  are  good,  and  .£50 
or  ^680  would  be  very  acceptable  for  them  indeed.  I  am 
quite  ashamed  of  giving  you  all  this  trouble,  but  believe  me, 

"Yours." 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  207 

It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  the  Princess  should  have 
conceived  such  a  hatred  against  a  person  she  ought  to  have 
respected, — whose  whole  life,  as  it  appeared  to  the  world  in 
general,  was  to  be  venerated  and  admired — and  still  more  is 
it  to  be  lamented  that  she  should  ever  have  expressed  her 
sentiments  : — but  the  reasons  the  Princess  alleged,  though 
probably  groundless,  and  the  mere  devices  of  mischievous 
persons,  were  in  themselves  sufficient  to  have  justified  her 
Royal  Highness's  dislike,  had  they  been  true. 

In  the  first  place,  the  favorite  of  her  husband  was  sent  for 
to  escort  her  to  this  country,  (some  say  by  consent  of  the 

Q ,)  and  it  is  further  said  she  gave  the  Princess  the  most 

insidious  advice.  On  a  particular  occasion,  after  the  birth  ot 
Princess  Charlotte,  she  contrived,  by  a  most  unfeminine 
manoeuvre,  to  render  the  Prince's  first  visit  to  his  wife  after 
her  lying-in  most  unpleasant  and  disrespectful  to  his  feelings. 
At  Brighton  all  sorts  of  tricks,  it  is  alleged,  were  played  oft' 
upon  the  Princess.  Spirits  were  mingled  with  her  beverage, 
and  horses  were  given  her  to  ride,  which  were  dangerous  for 
her  to  manage,  and  made  her  appear  ridiculous. — Lastly, 
there  was  undoubtedly  a  letter  of  her  Royal  Highness's,  ad- 
dressed in  confidence  to  her  mother  the  Duchess  of  B k, 

which  was  opened  surreptitiously  and  carried  to  the  Q , 

who  read  the  same  and  acted  upon  its  contents.  Many  other 
stories  are  related  of  the  same  nature,  and  of  a  blacker  dye. 
A  belief  in  these,  however  devoid  of  truth  in  reality,  it  must 
be  confessed  was  quite  sufficient  to  excite  an  inimical  feeling 
between  the  Royal  mother-in-law  and  her  son's  wife. 


No.  VII. 

"  The  intention  of  Mr.  Whitbread  is,  that  some  few  ques- 
tions will  arise  in  Parliament  this  week  concerning  my  busi- 
ness, and  he  has  just  given  me  the  advice  not  to  go  to  the 
Opera  this  week  ;  for  which  reason  I  lose  no  time  in  inform- 
ing you,  my  dear  Lady that  I  shall  not  go  this 

week. 

"  I  am  in  great  haste,  but  believe  me  ever, 

"  Your  affectionate  C.  P." 

"  March  15. 

"  You  are  at  liberty,  my  dear ,  to  make  any  use 

of  my  box  that  you  please." 

Since  "trifles  form  the  sum  of  human  things,"  it  may  be 
remarked  in  the  Princess's  favour,  that  she  was  perpetually 
balked  in  all  the  minor  occurrences  of  dailv  life  ;  and  those 


208  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

who  had  most  constant  access  to  her  person  knew  that, 
generally  speaking,  she  bore  these  teazing  circumstances 
with  great  good  temper; — the  perpetual  recurrence  of  trivial 
contradictions  is  more  difficult  to  endure  with  equanimity, 
than  any  disappointment  of  a  more  serious  kind.  In  the  latter 
case,  there  is  a  defence  prepared,  either  by  philosophy  or 
religion;  in  the  former  the  thing  is  unexpected,  and,  when 
often  repeated,  becomes  exceedingly  lacerating. 

No.  VIII. 

"  MY  DEAR , 

"  Pray  make  any  use  you  like  of  my  Opera  box  as  long  as 
you  remain  in  town,  as  I  have  no  inclination  to  go  at  present. 
Pray  tell  me  what  you  heat,  and  what  the  general  opinion  of 
the  world  is  about  all  my  affairs. 

"  I  am  very  angry  with  Miss  B.,  that  she  has  refused  my 
invitation.  Cest  dans  les  moments  d'adversite  that  you 
know  your  real  friends ;  but  I  must  honestly  confess,  I  begin 
to  have  a  great  contempt  for  the  world. 

"  Pray  my  dear if  you  can,  call  on  Lady ,  who 

leaves  London  at  the  beginning  of  next  week — and  even 
England  I  may  say — perhaps  for  ever.  She  will  take  it  very 
kind  of  you,  and  I  shall  never  forget  the  pleasant  moments 
unci  hours  I  have  passed  at  her  house — -the  only  ones  I  ever 
passed  in  England. 

"The  enclosed  letter  which  you  sent  me  of  the  unknown 
lady,  who  offers  herself  to  come  forward  with  any  deposition 
and  document,  lias  also  written  to  Mr.  Whilbread,  which 
tempted  me  to  send  the  letter  you  enclosed  to  Mr.  Brougham, 
as  he  is  upon  the  spot,  and  in  a  few  days  1  shall  inform  you 
what  the  result  of  this  inquiry  has  been. 

"I  trust  your  health  is  good,  that  you  may  enjoy  all  the 
amusements  which  waltzing  and  suppers  may  offer  you. 

"  With  these  sentiments  I  glory  in  subscribing  myself 
"  Your  most  truly  affectionate,  C.  P." 

The  constant  restlessness  of  persons  immersed  in  the 
cares  of  this  life,  to  know  what  others  are  saying  of  them, 
what  others  are  thinking  of  them,  and  the  inefficacy  of  this 
knowledge,  even  when  it  meets  their  expectations,  to  produce 
peace  or  even  pleasure,  form  one  of  the  most  striking  illus- 
trations of  the  Preacher's  word — "Vanity  of  vanities,  all  is 
vanity."  There  is  every  now  and  then,  in  the  Princess's 
notes  and  letters,  as  there  was  in  her  conversation,  an  under 
current  of  acute   feeling   and   melancholy,  which   requiied 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  209 

only  to  have  had  more  permanency,  and  more  justice  and 
legitimacy  of  cause,  to  have  been  as  respectable  as  it  was 
touching:  but  with  her  Royal  Highness  one  circumstance 
drove  out  another,  and  the  habit  of  catching  at  straws  for 
diversion,  or  for  succour,  (as  the  emergency  of  the  moment 
might  demand,)  rendered  the  efforts  of  her  best  friends,  to 
serve  or  save  her,  fruitless. — "  Whom  the  gods  design  to  ruin, 
they  blind." 

Lady was,  it  must  be  allowed,  an  improper  person  to 

have  been  admitted  to  the  Princess's  intimacy  ;  and  afterwards, 
when  it  was  too  late,  her  Royal  Highness  was  made  to  feel 
this"  truth. — At  Naples,  the  lady  in  question  being  reduced  to 
great  pecuniary  difficulties,  drew  largely  upon  her  Royal 
Highness's  generosity,  and  when  the  latter  had  no  more  to 
bestow-1 — having  literally  sold  some  diamonds  or  pearls  to  the 
Duchess  of  Bracciano,  at  Rome,  to  enable  her  to  do  this  act 

of  kindness, — Lady turned  upon  her  benefactress,  and 

became  one  of  her  most  vile  detractors !     But  the  besom  of 

destruction  has  swept  the family  to  the  winds,  and  the 

betrayer  and  the  betrayed  are  alike  beyond  the  praise  or 
censure  of  this  world's  applause  or  blame. 


No.  IX. 

"MY  DEAR  , 

"I  will  not  dwell  upon  all  the  subjects  which  you  must 
have  read  over  and  over  again  in  the  newspapers,  pro  et 
contra,  and  you  see  now  how  prudent  and  wise  it  was  in  my 
friends,  not  to  have  published  the  other  '  letters  in  question,' 
till  the  mind  of  the  public  was  ripe  for  the  conception  of  all 
their  infernal  tricks.  The  only  punishment  which  has  for, 
the  present  been  inflicted  upon  me  is  that  Princess  Charlotte 
has  received  orders  not  to  come  at  all ;  which,  of  course  has 
occasioned  a  very  delightful  letter,  dictated  by  me,  to  the 
skilful  pen  of  Lady  Anne  Hamilton,  to  Lord  Liverpool.  Mrs. 
Lisle,  as  one  of  the  valuable  witnesses  of  theirs,  has  been 
sent  for,  and  with  her  usual  grace  and  elegance,  she  will  try 
to  give  herself  some  consequence,  making  it  believed  that 
she  was  one  of  my  confidential  friends,  though  she  never  had 
that  honour. 

"  There  has  been  a  letter  forwarded  to  me,  which  I  beg  of 
you  to  send  to  Lisbon  ;  but,  as  one  of  iMiss  Knijrht's  cousins 
goes  by  Thursday,  if  you  would  enclose  it  yourself,  with  a 
few  lines  addressed  to  Miss  Knight,  Warwick  House,  it  will 

18* 


210  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

reach  completely.  But  I  beg  of  you  to  mention  it  as  your 
own  letter,  and  not  a  commission. 

"  I  shall  come  in  the  morning  of  Thursday  or  Friday,  after 
my  luncheon,  which  is  four  or  five  o'clock, — and,  by  that 
time  I  trust  I  shall  have  something  more  interesting  to  com- 
municate to  you.  In  the  mean  while,  believe  me,  your's 
affectionately,  C   P." 

The  assumed  tone  of  jocularity,  and  a  straining  after  wit, 
or  what  her  Royal  Highness  conceived  to  be  such,  which  are 
discernible  in  this  letter,  cannot  deceive  any  one  ;  nor  con- 
ceal the  worm  that  gnawed  her  heart — but  the  constant  irrita- 
tion in  which  the  Princess  and  the  R 1  contrived  to  keep 

each  other,  was  a  perfect  game  of  battledore  and  shuttlecock  ; 
and  if  the  latter  ever  fell  to  the  ground,  there  was  always 
some  by-stander  ready  to  pick  it  up  again,  and  thus  the  game 
of  torment  was  renewed,  and  lasted  to  their  lives'  end.  It  is 
difficult,  at  this  distance  of  time,  to  ascertain  what  letters  her 
Royal  Highness  alludes  to,  as  having  been  prudent  on  the 
part  of  her  friends  not  to  publish. 

Poor  Lady  A.  H.  has  been  very  unjustly  condemned — for 
she  intended  to  do  right — though  she  was  always  doing 
wrong.  A  spirit  of  intrigue  and  petty  concealment,  and  a 
false  idea  of  prudence,  prevented  that  open  uprightness  of 
character,  which  walks  erect  through  the  world  and  defies 
slander,  because  it  has  no  little  mean  interests  to  serve. 
Nevertheless,  it  will  be  told  of  this  lady  hereafter,  that  she 
underwent  all  the  contumely  and  all  the  opprobrium  of  the 
last  public  scenes  of  her  unfortunate  and  misguided  mistress, 
and  never  left  her  person  in  life,  or  her  insulted  remains,  till 
they  were  deposited  in  the  grave,  where  all  things  are  for- 
gotten. This  moral  courage  on  the  part  of  Lady  H.,  by 
which  she  could  get  little  or  nothing  to  compensate  for  the 
odium  it  entailed  upon  her,  will  be  done  justice  to  at  last,  and 
will  cover  a  thousand  little  defects  of  meaner  kind,  the 
growth,  it  may  be,  of  timidity,  of  a  false  idea  of  doing  good 
— que  scui-je?  of  a  littleness  of  conception,  which,  after  all, 
was  strangely  contrasted  in  the  same  character  with  a  great- 
ness, during  the  last  scenes  of  the  historic  tragedy  in  which 
she  was  a  figurante — that  will  ultimately  reverse  the  judg- 
ment which  has  been  too  hastily  pronounced  upon  her: — 
mais  tot  ou  tard  tout  se  scait ;  and  the  public  award  is  gene- 
rally just  at  the  last — though  often  too  tardily  so,  to  affect 
beneficially  the  happiness  of  the  person  on  whom  sentence  is 
passed. 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  211 

No.  X. 

"  A  thousand   thanks,   dear ,   for   the   beautiful 

gown  !   worked  by  the  most  beautful  and  delicate  fingers.     I 

trust  you  have   been  amused  at  the ,  where  you   found 

the  family,  and  particularly  the  Marquis,  in  high  spirits. 

"  Pray,  any  day,  whpn  it  is  convenient  to  you,  let  me 
have  a  line,  to  inform  me,  if  you  have  an  answer  from  Mr. 
•,  as  suspense  is  worse  than  misfortune. 

"  Concerning  '  Jeanne  d'Arc'  and  myself,  we  go  on  in  a 
humdrum  way.  I  have  been  so  fortunate  to  have  contrived 
that  we  have  not  been  one  whole  day  alone  together.  The 
only  news  I  have  heard  is,  that  Paddy  has,  very  near  Staines, 
a  cottage  for  the  Bowager  Lady  — — .  The  sign  for  the 
house  will  be  '  Le  beau  Lleon  et  la  belle  Javotte,'  in  case  any 
body  Calls  on  them. 

"  I  have  heard  of  nothing  but  merriment  and  high  spirits 
of  the  royal  family — that  I  am  afraid  that  my  prospect  of  in- 
tended journey  and  travels  are  put  a  little  far  back.  But  I 
will  not  trespass  longer  upon  your  time  with  all  my  Jere- 
maides.     I  will,  therefore,  only  conclude  with  assuring  you, 

that  I  remain  for  ever,  my  dear , 

"  Your  most  sincere  and  affectionate  C.  P." 
"Sept.  17th." 

Any  person  who  knew  the  parties,  must  guess  that  the 
Princess  designates  Lady  A.  H.  as  Joan  of  Arc — there  was  a 
comicality  in  that  idea  which  might  be  called  happy.  Who 
Paddy    is,    and    who  Lady    J.,   remains   a   mystery.     The 

"  high  spirits"  of  the  one  party  of  the  r 1  family,  always 

seemed  to  have  given  comparatively  low  spirits  to  the  poor 
Princess.  The  German  clocks,  where  the  husband  and  wife 
alternately  come  forth  or  retire,  are  illustrative  of  this  fact : 
and  one  instance  may  serve  for  all — but  this  is  not  a  circum- 
stance confined  to  any  one  court  or  clime.  Turn  over  the 
records  of  the  past,  look  to  the  families  of  the  present  dynas- 
ties of  Europe.  How  fares  it  with  them  ? — even  so  :  la  res- 
semblance  et  la  difference,  may  be  read  in  all,  leaving  the 
foundation  the  same. 


No.  XI. 

"  Sunday  Morning. 
"  .MY  DEAR , 

"  I  shall  send  the  postchaise  in  time  to-morrow  morning, 
as  you  must  be  at  Blackheath  at  half  past  ten  o'clock,  for  it 


-212  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

is  absolutely  necessary  that  I  am  at  Kensington  at  twelve 

o'clock,  for  which  reason  I  beg  of  you,  my  dear ,  to  be 

exact.  I  intend  to  dress  at  Kensington,  so  you  may  take 
your  little  parcel  with  you  to  be  quite  smart. 

"  You  will  have  read  the  *  *  *  of  this  morning,  and,  to- 
morrow, there  will  be  a  very  excellently  written  contradic- 
tion by  Mr.  Whitbread,  and  a  Mr.  Holt,  in  all  the  morning 

papers  of  Monday,  as  Mr.  M is  this  moment  in  custody 

under  Dr.  Warburton  again  ;  of  which  the  editor  of  the  *  *  * 
is  perfectly  aware,  but  still  he  has  obstinately  insisted  in  his 
intention,  and,  therefore,  he  must  be  prosecuted,  and  nobody 
will  ever  like  to  take  his  paper  again,  which  is  a  very  just 
punishment  for  his  impudence. 

"  The  '  gentil  Troubadour'  I  shall  give  you  to-morrow 
back,  as  the  copy,  and  all  the  verses  which  belong  to  it,  I 
find,  are  not  in  your  possession, 

"  I  will  not  detain  you  any  longer — don't  take  the  trouble 
to  write  a  single  line — but  only  be  ready  in  time  to-morrow 
morning,  and  believe  me  ever, 

"Your  sincere  and  affectionate  C.  P." 

"  You  will  have  read  the  *  *  *  of  this  morning,"  &c,  &c. 
There  was  a  curious  story  current  at  the  time  to  which  the 

paragraph  refers,  of  Mr.  M 's  having  been  employed  by 

Lady  E 1  to  write  violent,  ill-judged  articles  for  the  *  *  *, 

which  I  think  I  remember  to  have  heard  were  libellous,  and 
in  consequence  of  which  Mr.  M.  was  taken  into  custody,  not 
for  madness,  but  for  scurrility;  and  he,  to  defend  himself, 
declared  that  he  had  put  in  the  paragraph  by  order  of  the 
Princess.  Then  came  an  examination  of  the  man,  and  a  de- 
fence of  her  Royal  Highness,  and  more  attacks.  How  the 
matter  ended  I  forget;  but  the  probability  of  the  story  is,  that 
Lady  E 1  was  the  contriver  and  plotter  of  the  whole  ma- 
noeuvre, which  did  a  great  deal  of  harm  to  the  cause  of  her 
Royal  Highness.  It  was  the  misfortune  of  the  Princess  to 
be  surrounded  by  intriguing  people.  Perhaps  this  is  more  or 
less  the  misfortune  of  all  princes.  If  they  do  not  detect  it, 
they  fall  into  the  snare — if  they  do,  they  become  suspicious, 
and  hardened,  and  unnatural;  like  a  baited  animal,  they  are 
driven,  as  she  was,  to  despair  and  death  ! 


No.  XII. 

"  MY  DEAR  , 

"  I  hope  you  have  been  amused  at  the  Opera  yesterday. 
"  Pray,  if  you  hear  any  news,  be  so  kind  to  communicate 


TIMES    OF    GEORGE    THE    FOURTH.  213 

them  to  us.  I  am  to  see  Mr.  Whitbread  to-day,  on  what 
further  proceedings  in  the  business  will  be  necessary.  I  hear 
the  Grand  Mufti  is  furious  against  the  House  of  Commons. 

Sir  J D passes  his  days,  instead  of  Newgate,  at 

Carlton  House. 

"  I  have  not  yet  seen  Princess  Charlotte,  except  by  chance 
in  the  Park,  which  was  on  that  day  five  weeks. 

"  I  send  you  a  letter,  which  if  you  can  get  a  frank  for,  so 
much  the  better ;  if  not,  you  are  so  kind  to  send  it  to  the 
general  post  as  soon  as  possible. 

"  If  you  hear  and  see  any  thing  of  the  Sapios,  send  them 
this  paper,  and  desire  to  know  how  soon  the  money  is  to  be 
paid  :   it  contains  subscribers  to  his  concert. 

"  My  best  compliments   to  Mrs.  D ,  and  my  love  to 

Miss  B :   ask  her  what  she  now  thinks  of  the  House  of 

Commons  ;  and  believe  me,  my  dear ,  ever 

"  Your  sincere  and  affectionate  C.  P." 

"  March  10th." 

Sir  J.  was  the  husband  of  that  Lady ,  who 

proved  herself  to  be  a  most  unworthy  person,  and  who  acted 
a  principal  part  in  that  notoriously  dirty  job,  the  investigation 
of  the  Princess's  conduct  by  private  commission,  instituted 
against  the  Princess  of  Wales  some  years  previously  to  the 
date  of  this  letter: — a  transaction  which  will  always  remain  a 
blot  on  the  page  of  English  history,  and  which  every  name 
of  note  that  was  implicated  in  that  unconstitutional  measure, 
must  wish  erased  for  ever  from  the  records  of  their  country. 
But  if  they  were  erased  at  an  earthly  tribunal,  they  will  re- 
main still  graven  on  a  higher  one. 

No.  XIII. 

"  Friday,  April  23d. 
"  MY  DEAR , 

"  As  you  like  sometimes  high  treason,  I  send  you  a  copy 
of  the  verses  written  by  Lord  Byron  on  the  discovery  of  the 
bodies  of  Charles  the  First  and  Henry  the  Eighth:  you  may 
communicate  it  to  any  of  your  friends  you  please. 

"  The  Lord  Mayor  and  Aldermen,  &c,  &c,  are  to  come 
on  Wednesday  at  one  o'clock,  to  Kensington,  for  which  rea- 
son I  shall  send  you  my  post-chaise,  to  bring  you  here  at 
half-past  nine,  as  I  must  set  off  at  ten  o'clock  precisely,  to 
prevent  a  crowd.  I  hope  you  are  better,  and  that  there  will 
be  no  impediment  to  prevent  your  being  at  this  great  show. 
"  Believe  me,  yours  affectionately,  C.  P." 


214  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

"  As  you  like  sometimes  high  treason."  The  person  thus 
addressed  must  have  heen  doubtless  astonished  at  this  asser- 
tion, being  one  of  the  most  loyal  in  the  land.  The  scene 
alluded  to,  of  the  Lord  Mayor  and  Aldermen  coming  with  a 
congratulatory  address  to  her  Royal  Highness,  was  one  of 
those  extraordinary  triumphs,  which,  had  they  effected  a 
corresponding  demeanour  on  the  part  of  her  whom  they  ought 
to  have  warned  and  encouraged,  might  have  been  productive 
of  great  changes  in  public  affairs,  and  have  lifted  her  up  to 
the  station  she  had  a  right  to  hold  in  the  land.  But  the  same 
levity  and  imprudence,  which  seem  to  have  been  her  curse 
throughout,  turned  all  these  expressions  of  attachment  and 
respect  towards  her  person  into  a  farce.  And  even  those 
whom  her  benefits  and  kindness  had  endeared  her  to,  could 
scarcely  avoid  feeling  these  demonstrations  of  admiration  and 
respect  to  be  ill-placed.  It  is  possible  to  render  our  best 
friends  ashamed  of  us. 


No.  XIV. 

"  Wednesday,  5th  of  May. 

"  I    shall  in   future   be   called    '  Qijeen    Margaret  in   her 

sequestered  bower,'  my  dear ,  and  you  will  be  the  fair 

Rosamond  living  with  me  in  that  bower.  The  short  and  the 
long  of  this  is,  blessed  dear  old  Lady  Reid  be,  for  her  good 
taste  !  I  think  her  house  perfection,  and  to-day,  I  believe, 
the  contract  will  be  signed.  Some  of  the  rooms  which  I 
have  chosen  for  my  own  use  are  extremely  dirty  ;  but  with 
soap  and  water  and  brushing,  and  a  little  painting,  I  shall 
make  them  look  well.  The  two  drawing-rooms  and  the 
dining-room  are  truly  magnificent  old  rooms,  which  would 
do  credit  to  any  old  manor-house  in  Scotland.  I  have  taken 
it  for  seven  years,  as  it  was  impossible  to  take  it  for  less  ;  but, 
in  case  my  situation  should  change  before  that  period,  I  can 
let  it  whenever  I  please.  It  is  no  more  than  eight  hundred 
pounds  a  year,  which  is  extremely  cheap:  it  is  like  a  com- 
plete villa  in  the  midst  of  town,  as  you  know  that  Curzon 
Street,  May  Fair,  is  close  to  Stanhope  Gate,  and  the  other 
to  Piccadilly,  which  will  make  it  very  easy  for  my  friends 
to  come.  I  hope  in  ten  days  I  shall  be  able  to  live  in  it : 
though  I  may  not  be  immediately  quite  comfortable,  it  \s  the 
only  means  to  make  the  workmen  be  more  speedy. 

"  The  only  news  I  heard  on  my  return  from  my  land  of 
discovery  to  Kensington  is,  that  the  Regent  had  the  impu- 
dence to  plan  to  give  a  ball  to  the  Queen  and  royal  family 


TIMES  OF  GEORGE  THE  FOURTH.  215 

to-morrow  at  Carlton  House,  but  his  friends  advised  him  not 
to  do  such  a  foolish  thing. 

"  What  do  you  think  of  the  Queen's  attack  by  a  mad  wo- 
man ?  I  suppose  the  true  courtiers  would  wish  that  now  an 
address  should  be  presented  to  her  Majesty,  as  her  life,  and 
for  what  Heaven  knows,  perhaps  her  honour,  might  have 
been  in  danger.  • 

"  The  city  is  now  busy  about  an  address  to  the  Regent. 
It  is  to  be  hoped  that  it  will  be  carried.  I  also  hear  that 
Lord  Yarmouth  is  to  leave  England  in  course  of  a  month. 
I  am  now  in  great  haste  to  receive  the  address  from  Canter- 
bury,— and  have  only  to  add  that  I  remain  for  ever, 

"  Yours  affectionately,  C.  P." 

This,  house  of  Lady  Reid's  was  a  thorn  in  the  Princess's 
side,  and  she  firmly  believed,  perhaps  with  reason,  that  she 
was  prevented  from  obtaining  possession  of  it  by  persons 
inimical  to  her  living  in  London. 

The  tide  of  public  favour  was  with  her  at  that  moment : 
she  might  have  sailed  in  with  the  favouring  gale  to  fortune's 
highest  honours  ;  but  how  widely  she  departed  from  all  the 
common  rules  of  prudence  ;  and  how  mournful  was  her  fate  ! 
Whatever  her  faults  and  foUies  were,  when  her  previous  life 
is  taken  into  consideration — the  education  she  received — the 
example  set  before  her  from  her  earliest  years — the  actual 
contemplation  of  the  life  of  those  who  persecuted  her — will 
not  posterity  draw  a  parallel  which  will  silence  too  severe  a 
judgment,  and  record  her  follies  with  a  lenient  hand  ? 


No.  XV. 

"  Saturday  Morning. 
"  MY  DEAR  , 

"  Whoever  is  in  your  agreeable  society  must  forget  all 
matters  of  business,  for  which  reason  I  must  now  take  up 
my  pen  to  trouble  you  with  these  lines,  and  trespass  npon 
your  leisure  hour.  I  wish  you  would  be  kind  enough  to 
write  to  Lord  Melville  in  my  name,  to  represent  to  him  the 
very  melancholy  situation  poor  Lady  Finlater  has  been  left 
in,  since  the  demise  of  the  Duchess  of  Brunswick.  She  has 
literally  no  more  than  £300  a  year,  which  is  all  that  she 
possesses  in  the  world.  The  Duchess  gave  her  £250  a  year, 
and  made  her  besides  an  allowance  for  candles  and  coals,  and 
the  rent  for  a  small  lodging-house  in  Manchester  or  Baker 
Street  (I  believe) ;  and,  if  Lord  Melville  would  espouse  her 


216  MEMOIRS    OF    THE 

cause,  to  get  her  a  pension  of  jt?500  a  year,  without  deducting 
the  income-tax,  it  would  make  the  latter  moments  (which  can 
only  now  be  moments)  of  this  poor,  blind,  and  infirm  woman, 
at  least  comfortable — and  particularly  coming  through  the 
channel  of  Lord  Melville,  whose  father  has  always  been  her 
best  and  most  steady  friend.     I  leave  all  the  rest,  my  dear 

Lady ,  to  your  skilful  imagination,  and  the  pathetic  for 

your  excellent  heart ;  and  no  one  is  more  able  to  express 
right  and  amiable  feelings  than  you. 

"  By  universal  applause,  the  address  has  been  carried  in 
the  city,  and  I  expect  the  Sheriffs  this  morning.  But,  of 
course,  a  very  civil  answer  will  be  given,  that  I  cannot 
receive  them,  having  no  establishment  suitable  to  receiving 
the  Lord  Mayor  and  city;  and  besides,  being  in  deep  mourn- 
ing on  the  melancholy  event  of  my  mother's  sudden  death. 

"  Lord  Moita  has  given  a  very  satisfactory  answer  to 
Mr.  Whitbread,  which  arrived  last  night,  (before  he  leaves 
this  country,)  about  the  private  examinations  in  his  house — 
and  a  copy  of  it  I  shall  send  you  of  his  '  reminiscences,'  and 
I  say  '  mieux  tard  que  jamais.'  I  send  you  also  enclosed,  a 
letter  for  Miss  Rawdon,  to  send  to  Mrs.  Grethed,  as  I  do  not 
know  her  proper  direction.  Heaven  bless  you,  and  believe 
me  for  ever  yours.  C.  P." 


The  Princess  was  always  inclined  to  do  kind  and  noble 
things.  She  was  decidedly  liberal,  and  liked  every  thing 
upon  a  grand  scale.  When  she  gave  a  shabby  present,  as 
she  frequently  did,  it  was  from  ignorance,  not  from  parsi- 
mony. Sometimes,  it  might  be,  she  had  nothing  better  at 
the  moment  to  give  away  ;  and  she  would  take  up  any  thing 
which  happened  to  lie  about  her  room,  (in  which  there  was 
a  sufficient  quantity  of  trash,)  and  present  it  to  a  friend. 
The  feeling  which  prompted  the  deed  was  genuine  kindness; 
and  she  would  as  readily  have  given  away  an  article  of  costly 
price  as  one  of  a  trumpery  kind,  had  it  lain  in  the  way.  She 
was  singularly  ignorant  of  all  works  of  art,  and  totally  devoid 
of  taste,  though  she  fancied  she  was  precisely  the  reverse. 
Imitations  pleased  her  as  much  as  realities,  and  she  fancied 
that  others  were  like  herself.  She  once  said  with  some  as- 
perity, "  De  English  are  all  merchants — de  first  question 
they  ask  is  the  value  of  a  gift  in  money."  There  was  a 
wrong  and  a  right  side  in  many  of  her  sayings ;  but  she  saw 
most  things  through  a  distorting  medium. 

END    OF    VOL.    I. 


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